The Devil in White
by Reels
Summary: She knows she'll always be safe with Klaus.
1. Mystic Falls

_She knows she'll always be safe with Klaus._

xx

She's covered in blood but thirsts not, her eyes still clear, her fangs retracted. She's lying on her side, lips parted and stained red as though with lipstick, and tears stream from her eyes to her temple, leaving a clean line. Klaus sinks his fangs into another person's throat and rips it out. Blood rains down on her as if she's in a cheaply made horror film.

He's trying to prove something.

He wipes the back of his hand over his mouth, smearing the blood but not cleaning it. His eyebrows narrow and he moves back to her, lying in the center of the room, weak with vervain. He straddles her and pushes her shoulder violently so she's on her back. Caroline gasps and more tears begin to flow.

"Sweet Caroline…" He purrs, and there's something in his gaze that leaves her cold, something in his tone that makes her breath catch, leaving her motionless and tense. "There's no need for tears, love."

And yet corpses litter the gymnasium, corpses of people she had grown up with and known all her life; corpses of those who had wanted her dead, judging by the vials of vervain and the wooden stakes that a few of them still cling to. But she had been a fool to think that she could remain in Mystic Falls as she is, that someone wouldn't notice the way she didn't age. Of course they'd riot, of course they'd come for her, and of course she wouldn't fight them off. These were people she saw every day, always ready with a smile and a compliment. She had resigned herself to death the minute they shoved that needle filled with vervain into her arm, because who would come for her? How would anyone discover she was in trouble? They came for her in the night, awoke her with the pinch of their injection. Quiet, careful, because they knew she must have friends.

And yet he came. He knew, somehow. And he had killed them all before her very eyes. She was painted red with the blood of his victims. And as he stands above her, she can see the wildness in his eyes, the glimmer of excitement, because he enjoyed himself very much, and his chest is still heaving as the adrenaline pumps through his veins, and Caroline can only weep for the deaths of these people who only thought they were doing good.

Klaus bends to his knees, on top of her now, and begins tracing over her stomach, fingering the holes in her nightgown that now clings to her form, wet and heavy with blood. Most of it is hers this time, her chest and stomach riddled with bullet holes, the wooden bullets embedded in her. Klaus still has that hungry look in his eyes, wild from the massacre, and Caroline can't breathe, because she's completely useless right now, and it's not like she could fight him off anyway.

"Don't look so scared, Caroline." He pronounces the syllables of her name carefully. "I'm here to help you, remember?" And he rips her nightgown open and digs his fingers into her bullet wounds, plucking out the bullets. Caroline cries out in agony, but Klaus doesn't stop, and she knows he's just helping and it would hurt either way, but she's so afraid of him and she doesn't trust his eyes looking over her exposed body, and she'd rather it be anyone else here, even Damon.

Klaus isn't acting the way he does around Caroline, not today. He isn't being courteous or charming, he isn't giving her soft smiles, or trying to calm her down and make her feel safe. He had burst into the gym with rage in his eyes, and didn't spare her a single look at he flew between his victims, ending their lives in seconds. And maybe she's foolish to expect him to act caring, particularly in this situation, but he's being rough with her as he's only been once, when Kol was stabbed, and he's speaking in such a serene way that her blood runs cold, and Caroline is frozen in anticipation because she has no idea what to expect from him.

"Klaus…" She chokes out and she can hardly stop herself from sobbing.

"Don't worry, love, I'll have these out soon." His voice is soothing and when he meets her gaze there's a look of mischief in his eyes.

"Klaus, all these people…" She begins crying again, and looks away from him.

"Hey, hey." Klaus grabs her chin and roughly pulls her face to his so that she's looking him in the eye again. "I did it to save you." He sounds angry, almost offended.

"I know, but-"

"But what? Would you have rather died then, Caroline?" His index finger and thumb wedge their way into her stomach, tearing the skin further until he can reach the bullet. He fishes it out and doesn't flinch when she cries out from the pain. "Shall I get a shotgun and riddle you with holes again?" His tone makes her believe he would do it. Klaus stands and steps over her, eyes scanning the floor of the gym until he finds a woman who is breathing shallowly. He grabs her by her ankle and drags her between the bodies of his less lucky victims before lying her down next to Caroline. "Drink," He orders, giving the human woman a kick in Caroline's direction. "You're weak."

Caroline presses her mouth into a hard line and looks at the woman next to her. Her name is Sheila. She works at the grocery store, in the bakery. She makes the most intricately designed cakes Caroline has ever seen. When Caroline was younger, she would give her a cupcake for free whenever she and her mother would go shopping. Sheila's a divorcee, like Caroline's mother, and has a son who went to North Carolina for college and only ever returns for Christmas now.

"Be quick, love, she won't last long."

"No, Klaus." Caroline closes her eyes and tries to ignore the quiet whimpering of the woman next to her.

He's to her in a flash, grabbing her around the neck and slamming her head against the ground. "Why, Caroline? Why won't you drink? Why were you so ready to die today? You've lived this life, what, ten years? How many times must I tell you you haven't even begun living yet?" Klaus is breathing heavily, nostrils flared, and from the way his grip tightens, if Caroline doesn't give him an answer soon, he'll keep beating her into the ground.

Caroline opens her eyes and, dammit, she can't seem to stop crying. She tries to inhale but Klaus's grip won't allow it, so she chokes out, "You're hurting me, Klaus." They're looking each other squarely in the eye, Klaus's brow narrowed, still breathing heavily, while Caroline gasps for air. "Klaus, please!" Her voice cracks and so does something inside him, his grip immediately loosened. He scoops her up, holding her close to him, and Caroline gasps for breath, her body stiff and uncertain about being in Klaus's hold.

Neither of them says anything for a long moment and only when Caroline hears the last breath leave the human woman does she return his embrace and sob into his shoulder, hating herself for seeking comfort in him, for being so vulnerable and exposed at his own hands. And he hugs her and pets her matted hair down, whispering, "Hush, hush…" over and over. She wants to hate him for all he's done, not just for tonight, but since he first came to Mystic Falls, but she can't. He's saved her again, how many times has that been now? And she's happy to be alive, though Caroline wonders if her life was worth the cost. Her mother would say it was, of course, as would her friends, and she knows for a fact that Klaus would place her life above thousands of humans, but as the corpse of a woman she has known for what seems like forever lies only inches from her and Caroline is covered in the blood of victims of the man holding her, she knows that had Klaus not come, she would have died, and she knows she would have been ok with it.

"I'm sorry, Caroline, I'm sorry…" He says now, his breath hot on her neck, but he's apologizing for the wrong things. She doesn't care that he was rough with her; she's been through worse with others she loves much more dearly. And maybe that's why she cries, because Klaus doesn't get it and perhaps he never will. He no longer holds a value for human life, but it isn't something she can fault him for, not really. He's lived for centuries, seen millions of faces come and go, and maybe it's easier to not hold humans in high esteem, maybe it's less painful. Maybe Caroline will be like him, if she can survive a few centuries. And perhaps that's what scares her more.

Klaus stands and begins walking from the gym. Caroline hides her face in his chest, unwilling and unable to see what remains of the dead. He takes her home and cleans her up, and Caroline says nothing, and spares him not even a glance. When he lies her down in her bed, he sits next to her, as he did years ago, the first time he saved (spared might be a better word) her life. When he reaches to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear, their eyes meet. Klaus's eyes are soft now, not a trace of the wildness that seemed to consume him earlier to be found, and Caroline can't help but glare, her guard completely up.

Klaus's brow knits and something breaks inside Caroline. She can't stay in Mystic Falls, not after tonight. And Klaus is her ticket out.

"We have to leave." She says without a second thought. "At least, I have to." But that notion scares her, because Caroline hates to be alone, and what does she know about the world? She doesn't know where she would go, if she would even try to start a life again somewhere. The idea of aimlessly wandering the planet, feeding off anyone unlucky enough to cross her path is less than ideal.

"Caroline…" Klaus starts, sounding unsure.

"They know, Klaus! They know about me, about what I am! And when they find those bodies in the morning…I have to leave. It's long overdue, anyway." Caroline sits up and Klaus moves back, hesitant. "Everyone else has left. I stuck around for mom." To live out the rest of her numbered days, she thinks, and it makes her heart hurt. "But it's become too noticeable." She slowly stands, still feeling the after effects of the vervain. Caroline looks around her room, at a loss. What should she take, what should she leave?

"Caroline, are you sure about this?" Klaus is still sitting on her bed. Caroline turns to face him. His expression is stony, concerned, maybe.

Caroline stares back and the events of the night suddenly hit her full force. She had gone to bed without a care in the world. She woke in the hands of humans who wanted nothing more than to drive a stake through her heart. They had carted her off to the school, empty for the summer, and gathered together in the gymnasium. There were thirty, maybe forty of them. And they all looked at her with such hate and disgust. She could hardly process it, drugged and drowsy, and scared out of her mind. She had resigned herself to death as she had done before, when Tyler bit her, when Alaric's alter ego had kidnapped her. She wanted to shut off her emotions, she knew it would be easier that way, but she wouldn't do it, wouldn't lose her humanity, not when she was at Death's door. They had thrown her to the ground, and judging by their ropes and chains they were going to restrain her. Someone got trigger happy and couldn't resist shooting her, and the crowd cheered, drowning out her scream. And almost as though the noise was a signal, Klaus came flying in, killing maybe ten people before anyone realized he was there. And Caroline watched in horror as he took every single one of them down before coming to her, almost driven mad by his slaying. And he saved her. It seemed as though he would always be there to save her, wanted or not.

"Yes." Caroline whispers, closing her eyes.

He's standing in a flash, a hand on her cheek, and her eyes open again. Klaus is looking at her as though he is saddened by this. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Caroline's breath catches and she feels overwhelmed. Klaus, the devil himself, if she were to ever give him a face. He would have killed her all those years ago, all to become powerful. But he did kill Jenna. And he tried to kill Elena. And he would have liked very much for Bonnie to be dead. He possessed Stefan, turned him into a monster like himself. He ordered Tyler to bite her, all to see just how strong his sire bond was. But then he came to her door and let her feed from him. And he showered her with gifts she didn't deserve. He talked to her, genuinely fascinated in a way no one ever was, really. He didn't cast her aside as some superficial girl, but maybe that's because she wasn't one anymore. He said she was full of light, whatever that meant. And here he was tonight, genuinely upset that she was ready to die. She hadn't even begun living yet, he said. Caroline didn't know what Klaus wanted from her. Always he had pushed his idea that she would grow bored with her life, that she would want out, want to explore the world. And maybe that was his appeal. He was brutally honest with her, because he had centuries to learn the truth of an immortal life. But he had been so impatient with her. And now he is questioning her, when she is saying what he has wanted to hear for years. That she's ready to go. 'We have to leave,' she had said first. We. And he is looking at her as if he regrets all of his comments, all of his urgings for Caroline to get out of Mystic Falls. As if he is scared she isn't ready. And there's something else. He wants nothing more than for her to say yes, she wants him to come with her. Because he knows she isn't prepared to face the world, not alone. But he's used to being snubbed by Caroline, and for a second, Caroline thinks about doing exactly what he expects, because she doesn't know what a life with Klaus would be like, and isn't sure she wants to find out.

But he's her ticket out. He made that clear years ago.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"Yes." Caroline repeats, and doesn't fight it when Klaus plants a kiss on her forehead.

They leave as the sun is rising. Caroline leaves her mother a very long note, but still isn't surprised when she gets a tearful phone call. Caroline promises to return, maybe years from now, and her mother tries to understand for her daughter's sake. Klaus smiles as he drives and Caroline stares straight ahead, quiet and cold. Klaus says nothing when she begins crying hours later, but he puts a hand on her thigh and squeezes and in that moment, Caroline thinks maybe things will be okay, because now, as they drive, headed for the nearest airport and a ticket to England, this is when her life is beginning. Her eternity starts now, with the escape of that miserable, beautiful little town, into the hands of a cruel and charming vampire with an unexplained fascination in her. And good thing for it, Caroline figures, because at least she knows she'll always be safe with Klaus. She had learned that he was very good at keeping a hold on the things he cared about.

"How did you find me?" This is the first thing she says to him since leaving Mystic Falls. They're on their flight now. Klaus had them put in first class, of course.

Klaus gives her a smile. "I had an inkling you might be in trouble, you could say."

Caroline quirks her eyebrow, not buying it. "What, did you feel a disturbance in the force?"

Klaus lets out a laugh and Caroline can't help but smile. "My theory is that vampires develop a sixth sense for those they care about."

Caroline stifles a sigh and shakes her head. "Typical vague, supernatural answer for everything, it seems." She blinks and stops smiling, looking at Klaus very seriously now. "Well whatever the explanation, thank you." She almost wants to throw up, thanking him for it. Murdering all those people. But even though she had resigned herself to death, Caroline is still very grateful to be alive.

"Caroline, I hope you realize that you don't ever have to thank me for saving you." Klaus is looking back at Caroline just as seriously and she stiffens, her brow knitting. "Your life is one I won't allow to end anytime soon."

She doesn't know what to say. Klaus smiles at her one last time and then turns away from her, closing his eyes. He doesn't expect her to say anything back, not yet, anyway. He gets it, that she can't trust him, that she won't allow herself to succumb to his charm. And he likes it, the challenge of Caroline, and maybe he's being a little over confident, but he's sure, given some time, if she would only try to get to know him, they could grow to understand one another. And he's willing to wait for her.

"Try to get some sleep, Caroline." He says without opening his eyes. "You've had a long night."

Caroline stares at Klaus for a moment before turning away. Her eyes wander to the window and go out of focus, hypnotized by the solid blue of the sky and the blanket of clouds beneath the plane. Caroline closes her eyes, the hum of the plane, the chatter of the other passengers, and the soft breathing of her companion lulling her to a dreamless sleep.

xx

-Reels


	2. London

Well, the first chapter was so well received that I decided I'd spit out some more for you all. :) I have no idea how long this will end up being, but I'm so thankful for your kind words, the story's addition to your favorites, and even some of you favoriting me as an author! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Honestly, if you all hadn't been so kind this story would have gone discontinued. So I hope you enjoy this chapter and that you stay around for future ones!

Enjoy!

xx

"Wake up, Caroline."

Sunlight is pouring into the room and when Caroline opens her eyes she winces away from it, throwing the blanket over her head. Klaus standing above her doesn't help.

He laughs and gives her shoulder a gentle shake. "Come on, darling, I've got a world to show you."

Their flight had landed early that morning, the two having spent most of the previous day exploring New York City after their short flight from D.C. Caroline supposed this was Klaus's first step in having her forget about her old life and Mystic Falls, introducing her to the hustle and bustle of a big city unlike any she had ever visited. And she loved it, of course, and found herself smiling more than she thought she'd be able to, but by the time they boarded their redeye flight to London she wasn't able to sleep, hypnotized by the blinking lights of the wing of the plane, lost in deep thought. Her mother had been calling her all day, calls that had gone ignored, Caroline unwilling to listen to anything her mother had to say, afraid she would give up and go back home. Klaus gave her a wary look each time she pulled out her ringing phone, as if afraid she would answer and do just that. He gave her a small smile each time she ignored the calls, and that smile made her stomach churn. She was playing right into the palm of his hand.

When their flight landed at around seven that morning, Caroline was desperate for blood and sleep. Klaus checked them into some really gaudy and expensive hotel and rented a suite with two bedrooms, Caroline surprised and thankful for this. "Don't look so shocked, Caroline." He clucked at her, taking her luggage into her room. She couldn't help but blush, feeling almost guilty. Klaus told her to take a bath and relax and that he'd be back after a while. Caroline was thankful for this alone time and sank into a scorching hot tub, ignoring the pain and denying herself any more tears. She tried to put it in perspective, that all those people, even after watching her grow up and knowing her so well, wanted her dead anyway, all because of what she was. Of course, they were her natural prey and she their predator, but Caroline made a point of sparing human life. Caroline sank into the water and banished those thoughts, instead opting to concentrate on her hunger.

As if on cue Klaus returned, a cooler of blood bags with him. A little compulsion can get you a long way, Caroline would learn, especially when you weren't in a town where half of the population was ingesting vervain. Caroline drank hurriedly, not realizing until she had finished three bags that Klaus wasn't drinking.

"Aren't you hungry?" She asked. Klaus hadn't eaten since they'd left Mystic Falls, since the gymnasium…

Caroline shut those thoughts out.

"I ate while I was out." He said, watching Caroline closely for her reaction.

Disgust, she supposed, was her first feeling. Her face showed it.

"I didn't kill her, if it makes a difference."

"Why don't you just drink from the bags?" Caroline asked, not feeling quite as disturbed as she did, and hating herself for it. "It seems common practice for vampires. Easier."

"Come, Caroline, you know it's hardly as good. A bag is like having a frozen dinner when you could be eating a fresh, home cooked meal." Klaus then reached for one of the bags and began drinking from it. "It's cold, to begin with, and I like blood warm, pumping with life, taken straight from the source. Much more intimate that way, wouldn't you agree?" Caroline had only drank from a human a handful of times, when she was but a young vampire, scared and in a blind rage, driven mad by her hunger. There was nothing intimate at all about it.

The night that Klaus had come to her suddenly swam to mind. The night he had let her drink from him. He had cradled her head and whispered softly to her.

Caroline felt herself turning pink. "I enjoy not viewing humans as lunch, sorry."

Klaus quirked his eyebrow at her. "That will change, Caroline."

And that worry was back. That worry that someday she'd end up like Klaus. That it would be easier to end up like Klaus.

Caroline stood from the table. "I'm going to sleep. I feel dead." Klaus grinned at her word choice and Caroline rolled her eyes.

It feels like Caroline has only slept a few hours when Klaus shakes her awake, blood bag in hand. "Wake up, Caroline." That gentle chuckle at her protests. "Come on, darling, I've got a world to show you." She stiffens at his touch.

Caroline hides under her covers for a few minutes, but then her hunger hits her full force. Rubbing her eyes, Caroline sits up in bed, accepting the blood bag Klaus offers her. "How long have I been asleep?" She asks, looking at the clock. It reads 10:04 a.m. Surely Klaus let her sleep longer than an hour.

"Twenty-five hours." He says, smiling at her shocked reaction.

"Why'd you let me sleep so long?" She asks, hating the idea of wasting a day.

"What's a day spent sleeping to a vampire?" He asks, and he's right, of course. She's beginning to hate how often he's right.

Caroline turns so she's sitting on the edge of her bed, looking out the window. The sun is shining in London, something she's happy for, glad the city isn't living up to its reputation. Town cars are practically bumper to bumper at the intersection below, a few towering red buses scattered among the traffic. "What have you been doing while I've been asleep?" She asks, eyes flicking to Klaus for a moment, then away again when she sees him staring at her.

Klaus sits next to her, gazing out the window as well. "I did some shopping; both of us were exceedingly under packed. I sent your clothes to a Laundromat to be washed and pressed, but they should be ready this afternoon."

"You didn't have to buy me clothes, I could have managed." She says, knowing full well she only packed two changes of clothes. She doesn't know how to feel about this gesture, on one hand grateful to have more than a pair of blue jeans and a few t-shirts, but also uncomfortable at his generosity for her.

"Whatever makes you feel better, love." A smile tugs at the corner of Klaus's mouth.

Caroline gives him a sideways glance. She wants to ask him why he's so nice to her all the time, why he feels obligated to give her gifts, to take care of her. _To buy you off,_ she tells herself, but it doesn't sit well with her this time, not today. His tiny gestures to her had littered the past decade; small, expensive gifts on her birthday and Christmas, a check in every now and then to see if she was alright, an invitation to some party his family felt like hosting out of boredom, even if they were across the country. She often scoffed at the gifts, the phone calls, rolling her eyes at his attempts. But he was never deterred by her obvious contempt for him. He had been so patient with her.

Klaus gives her a quizzical look. Caroline looks away and takes a sip from the blood bag. "So then what's on the agenda? You've lived in London, right?"

"Not since the 90s have I been here." Klaus suddenly looks nostalgic. "But I'm very fond of London. I always seem to find my way back here, every few decades." He gives her a small smile, cocking his head to the side. "I think you'll enjoy the city."

Caroline returns the smile. "Well then, I hope you're ready to give me one hell of a tour." His laugh told her he was ready to take her up on that challenge. And he did.

He took her to antique stores and book stores, places no regular tourist would go to, if they could even find it. They visited coffee shops, Klaus insisting she try the scones at this one, the cappuccino at another. They stumbled upon great murals, taking up an entire building side, colorful, bright, and unlike any art Caroline had ever seen. He took her to Piccadilly Circus, where Caroline stood in awe of the surrounding buildings, the traffic of cars and people. Klaus made the mistake of taking her to visit Harrods, where she could have spent days window shopping. As the day was winding down and Caroline was exhausted, Klaus insisted they visit one last attraction, the London Eye. As the sunset, they stared out over the city, glowing in the soft orange light.

"If you aren't too worn out, I've got one last experience for you today." Klaus says, watching her look over London, an expression of peace on her face.

She hesitates to take her eyes off the view, but gives Klaus a quick glance. "Oh?"

"How would you like to visit an English pub?" And suddenly the idea of getting completely wasted in a foreign country with a vampire that leaves her head reeling more often than not is the most attractive thing to Caroline.

She grins. "I would like that a lot."

The two stumble into a pub on the Thames, a dingy joint named The Mermaid's Song, established 1807. "I've been a frequent customer of theirs since it was built." Klaus tells Caroline, smiling as he holds the door for her. A few patrons stand outside, sucking on cigarettes and speaking to each other with heavy accents. They eye the two warily, not used to seeing unfamiliar faces. The pub is softly lit with orange light, giving the predominantly wooden room a soft, hazy glow. Glasses hang from the ceiling behind the bar, the back wall lined with every alcohol imaginable while beer on tap sits at the ready at the front of the bar. Band and movie posters hang around the room, proudly displaying signatures. A huge wooden mermaid that must have been as old as the establishment itself hangs from the ceiling on wires. The paint is chipped and the features are worn, but she holds a flirtatious smile and a beckoning hand. A grizzly old man serves as bar tender and he stands chewing on a toothpick, eyes on a small T.V. behind the bar, showing recaps of an earlier soccer (_football_, she tells herself) game. He looks up as they come in and gives a small nod and a grunt. Klaus directs Caroline to a back table, the entire bar preoccupied by frequent patrons, who talk to each other in booming voices and laugh even louder. Caroline is grinning and amazed and can't help the laughter that escapes her. Klaus looks back to her and grins, and Caroline is struck with how genuinely happy he looks.

"A beer, Caroline?" He asks, raising his eyebrows at her. She nods and he leaves her at the table, heading to the bar. Caroline sits, looking around the room with eager eyes. Rock music blares from a jukebox, some tune from the 80s. She's about to get sentimental when Klaus appears again, two large, chilled mugs filled to the brim with amber liquid in his hands. He hands her one which she gladly accepts. "So what do you think?" He asks.

"I think I'm in love." She laughs. It's unlike anywhere she's ever been, which she supposes was the some of the appeal of traveling with Klaus. She's thankful of the crowd the bar attracts, mostly middle aged men, tired and worn after a day's work. She's thankful to not be forced to make small talk with someone who appears to be her age, to make up some story about what she's doing in London, how old she is, where she's from. The other patrons ignore the young couple in the corner, and they're both grateful for it, though for different reasons. She takes a large swig from her mug, swallowing the beer with a slight wince.

"Not your favorite?" Klaus laughs.

"Not really a beer girl, but I figured if I was drinking in a pub, I had to do it right. But, this is better than anything else I've ever had." Caroline drinks until half of the mug is gone. "I was thinking we should get wasted tonight, Klaus." Caroline raises her eye brows at him, giving a small grin.

"Well I like your thinking, sweetheart!" And with that Klaus chugs the rest of his mug. Caroline follows his lead and they have the bartender refill their glasses. They seem to occupy their corner of the bar for hours, refilling their mugs when they empty over and over again until they're both feeling sleepy and warm. Caroline finds herself enjoying her evening with Klaus, who listens as she talks a mile a minute, all rosy cheeked and glassy eyed. Caroline's tongue is looser than usual, and she rambles on about Elena and Bonnie, her envy that they left Mystic Falls years ago. She confides in him that she still can't believe Elena hasn't picked a Salvatore brother, who have both been with her since she became a vampire. She complains that her mother continued to treat her like a teenager while she lived with her, and that Caroline almost felt like one still.

"Like, how had I not left home yet?" She says, head in her hands.

"Well, you stayed with you mother. You were loyal to your family. She was all you had left." Klaus says, nodding his head up and down in approval.

Caroline chuckles. "Yeah, you're all about family loyalty, huh? Where are they now, anyway?"

Klaus shrugs. "Elijah's being an enigma, as usual. Rebekah…she's probably going to high school again, where ever she is." Klaus laughs. "Last I heard she was in Washington posing as an exchange student. She compelled a family to take her in under that guise." Klaus shakes his head at the thought of his sister. "Kol…I think Kol's in Europe actually. He decided he preferred European girls to American." Klaus grins at this and Caroline shakes her head, laughing.

"Why'd you let them go?" Caroline asks.

Klaus suddenly looks contemplative. "I suppose I'm not worried anymore." He blinks a few times, staring into his empty glass. "I suppose I know, if I should ever need them, they will come to me. Having your siblings think you died can really do things to strengthen your bond." He looks at Caroline and shrugs.

Memories of all those years ago suddenly come to Caroline, the anger she had towards Klaus for tricking her into thinking he was Tyler, the almost relief she had as well, to know he lived. It was something she made her peace with, and Bonnie certainly helped her get over all those mixed up, confusing emotions. If he had died, she certainly wouldn't have lived. If the means of his survival involved trickery, so be it.

"We should head back. It's almost two." Klaus stands, and offers a hand to Caroline. She hesitates before accepting, but is glad for his help, as she wobbles when she stands. "Find your feet, love, there's a girl." He says, placing his other hand on the small of her back, leading her from the pub.

They walk at a slow pace back to their hotel, Caroline reveling in the cold breeze. They pass by many night clubs that are still open, loud music thumping from behind the closed doors. A few other couples walk the streets, girls leaning on their guys who look like they could use a hand as well. The burning in Caroline's throat comes suddenly and she realizes she hasn't drunk since that morning.

"Let's hurry back, I'm hungry." She says, picking up her pace. Klaus stops on the sidewalk and his head lulls to one side, looking across the street. A lone girl, stumbling and with her heels in her hands, is walking the opposite way, oblivious to the two of them across the street. He stares at her for a moment and then back to Caroline.

"I'm not feeling up for the run, and it will be another twenty minutes before we're back at this pace." He says by way of explanation.

"Klaus-" She starts, but in a moment he's cleared the street and is standing in front of the girl, who gives a yelp.

"Christ! 'Bout scared the shit outta me, you did!" She laughs, taking a step to the right to keep going. Klaus mirrors her movement, staring down at her.

"Klaus!" Caroline yells this time, running across the street to him. She's beside him now and the girl jumps, surprised at Caroline's sudden appearance. "Klaus, come on, let's just go. We can wait."

"The hell are you-" The girl begins before Klaus grabs her, slamming her against the wall.

"Would you like to go first, love?" He turns to Caroline, presenting the girl's bare neck to her. He has one hand over the girl's mouth, her screams and protests muffled. Caroline's eyes fly to the girl's neck. A vein pops out from the pale skin, and Caroline can almost see the blood running through it. Klaus's words swim back to her. _"… I like blood warm, pumping with life, taken straight from the source. Much more intimate that way, wouldn't you agree?"_ Her throat is on fire and her eyes darken, the veins around them pop out. Caroline's mouth opens and her fangs grow and just as she leans in half an inch, she remembers herself and flings herself away from Klaus and the girl.

"Klaus, you know I don't." Her fangs retract, the veins settle, and she's looking at him with her clear, critical eyes. His nostrils flare.

"And I told you that would change." He snaps. The girl squirms beneath him and he presses her closer against the wall. "You were so close, Caroline, you were so close to letting yourself over to what you truly are. A hunter, this human your prey."

"That isn't how it has to be, not anymore, Klaus." Caroline says, standing perfectly still. She's unsettled again, by this way he's acting. Demanding she be a certain way. _He's drunk_, she tells herself, but she knows these are ideals he possesses. A vampire was created to be at the top of the food chain; it was their right to indulge in any prey they wished. And humans were ideal; humans, the most dangerous game, so weak compared to their kind. "We don't have to hurt anyone to feed anymore." She's trying to talk him down, an impossible task, she's sure, but she has to try. This girl looks so scared. "Please."

Klaus stares at Caroline, that same, intense gaze he loves to give her. She holds her breath and then he buries his fangs into the girl's neck and she's overwhelmed with anger. He drinks until the girl passes out, and this angers him, unable to compel her to forget. Klaus looks between the girl's slumped form and Caroline, who's shaking her head, already knowing what he's thinking. This only angers him further.

"Well what would you have me do, Caroline? Leave her here to wake up so she can start screaming 'Vampire!' through the streets of London?" He shouts and Caroline offers no reply. Her mouth is pressed into a hardline. "Or should we carry her, bleeding and blacked out, to our hotel and hope she wakes up the next morning and maybe, if she doesn't start screaming her head off, we can compel her then, hm?" He kicks the brick wall the human girl is slumped against and Caroline looks away, scared to say anything, not knowing what she'd say, anyway. "It has to be done." He says finally, breathing heavily. He kneels down next to the girl and takes her limp head in his hands. He gives a quick jerk and Caroline hears the bones crack and the breath leave the girl. Klaus stands and looks at Caroline expectantly.

Caroline's shaking her head, her mouth twisted in disgust and hate. "I was an idiot to think I could actually enjoy myself with you." She bites out before running full speed away from him.

Klaus's gaze lingers on the spot Caroline had stood. He closes his eyes and gives a yell of frustration, slamming his fist into the brick wall that cracks beneath his blow.

xx

I would love any and all critique you all have to offer. I'm so scared I'm not writing these characters correctly. Your input would be great!

-Reels


	3. Dublin

Thank you for kind reviews! This chapter turned out to be a lot longer than the past two, so I hope you enjoy!

xx

Caroline wants to leave. She wants to leave London and Klaus behind and forget the past three days ever happened. She wants to return to Mystic Falls and lock herself in the house and never leave again if that's what she has to do in order to stay safe and out of suspicion. Her mother can tell everyone Caroline's left town and she will stay inside for the next five decades until her mother passes away and maybe by then Caroline will be ready to take on the world, without the company of Klaus.

Instead she locks herself in her hotel bedroom and cries. She hates herself for it.

She cries because it's hitting her again that she's out of the safety of Mystic Falls. She cries because she let herself slip under the illusion that leaving with Klaus was a good idea. She cries because she genuinely thought everything was going to be all right, that Klaus wasn't going to act like a psychopath. She cries because she's stuck in a foreign country without a clue, the only one who could possibly guide her someone she can't bear the look at, not right now, anyway.

She tears through bag after bag of blood, calming the fire in her throat, expelling the alcohol in her system. When she sobers up she starts tearing through her room, collecting all of her belongings, minus the clothes Klaus got for her. She's got no plan but she has to get out of here before Klaus returns. She doesn't know if he'd let her leave at this point.

Caroline freezes when she hears a soft knocking on her door. "Caroline…" Klaus calls gently. He doesn't try to open the door, but she knows he'd rip it off its hinges if he wanted to.

"Go away!" She yells, eyes flying to the window. She could jump the five stories down, but she'd probably break a leg from the fall and Klaus would surely get to her before that healed up. She could try the jump to the roof of the building next door, if it came to that. She still had hope that Klaus might yield to her, let her leave. A small, flickering hope.

"Caroline, I'm sorry." He's pleading with her. She hears a soft thud as he rests his forehead against the door. "I was drunk, I wasn't thinking clearly. I made a mistake, I know I did."

"Are you seriously giving me the 'you were drunk' excuse, Klaus?" Caroline snaps, standing by the door now. "When you're drunk you make out with someone and regret it in the morning, not kill a girl in the streets!"

"Well there's still time for that, love." She can hear the smile in his voice and she flushes red with anger and the slightest bit of embarrassment.

"Do not try to be charming all of a sudden." She warns, banging her fist on the door.

"Oh yes, I forgot. You're too smart to be seduced by me." Klaus sighs and tries the handle of the door. "Caroline, please open the door."

"No, Klaus. And if you break it down I swear I will jump out of this window to get away from you." Her breathing becomes heavy as her fight-or-flight senses kick in, and she stands poised, ready to lunge for the window.

"Don't be so dramatic, sweetheart." Klaus sighs, letting go of the door knob. "Won't you at least talk to me before you scale down the building?"

"Stop trying to make this out like I'm being dramatic!" She yells. "Klaus, you killed someone! For no reason other than you were hungry! Do you not realize how twisted and selfish that is? Do you not realize that that girl probably has a family who will be waiting for her?"

"And do you not realize that yelling that I killed someone in a hotel is an incredibly bad idea?" He snaps. He tries the handle again. "Caroline, please don't make me tear this door down." He says quietly, dangerously. Caroline hesitates for a moment. "Caroline." He warns and her hand flies to the lock, unlocking the door, and she speeds to the opposite side of the room, as far from Klaus as possible.

He has blood on his collar, but apparently had enough sense to wipe it clean from his face. The first thing he notices is her suitcase laid on her bed, open and practically empty. When he looks to Caroline his face is calm. "Good thinking, I don't believe we can stay in London any longer."

"If you think I'm going anywhere with you-"

"Caroline, will you please stop giving me that accusing look and just listen to me?" Klaus gives her an impatient look and she crosses her arms over her chest, frowning. "You know I feed from humans. You knew this when you left with me. Now, I think you need to get rid of these unrealistic expectations that I will stop feeding from humans all because you disapprove-"

"How are my expectations unrealistic? Why is it so ridiculous for me to think that, maybe, you can show a little compassion?" Caroline snaps back.

"Because I won't be bothered to show compassion for humans, Caroline!" He yells. Caroline winces away from him. Klaus takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "I'm sorry I did it in front of you and tried to have you drink from her as well, I genuinely am, and I'm sorry I had to kill her."

Caroline scoffs. "No you aren't. You don't care at all." She gives him a challenging look, daring him to say otherwise. "She was just another meal to you."

"Caroline, you have to understand that I hold little value for their lives." He snaps. "One day, you too might-"

"Stop it. Don't." Caroline is shaking her head.

"Why are you so afraid of what you are, Caroline?" Klaus demands, eyes narrowing at her. "Why do you fight so hard against your very nature?"

"Because I'm not that." Not yet. "I don't have to be that."

"Don't you get tired?" He takes a step towards her and she presses herself against the wall. "Constantly at war with yourself?" He keeps walking toward her and she's cornered. Caroline's eyes fly around the room, her breath picking up, and Klaus is in front of her, staring down at her.

"I can control it." She says. Caroline looks up at him and fear is obvious in her eyes. He doesn't move.

"But why do you think you have to?" He leans in close, their noses almost touching. Caroline's breath is halted completely. He raises his hand, curls a lock of her hair around his finger.

"Klaus…" He steps away from her. She lets out the breath she had been holding.

Klaus has his back to her. "You have the luxury of being at the top of the food chain, Caroline. Why not take full advantage of it? Indulge?"

Because she hasn't given up her human life yet, she thinks. Because she still remembers it, being human. Weak, powerless. She still empathizes with the species she once belonged. "I can't." She says.

"Can't? Or won't?" He turns back to her, awaiting an answer.

"Why does it matter to you?" Caroline's suddenly defensive, because she can't answer his question, because she doesn't know how. "Why do you care so much?"

Klaus's mouth twists into a frown. "Because I'm tired of seeing so many vampires seized by this…brotherhood with humans. As if we're on the same level." There's something wild in his eyes now. "As if they deserve our mercy." He spits out.

"You can't just cast them aside like that!" Caroline blurts out, her mind flying from her mother, to Matt and Jeremy, to the mob that stole her from her bed. "Klaus, you were human once. How can you show such contempt for them?"

"That was a long time ago, Caroline." Klaus's tone is dangerous again.

"But you can't have forgotten-"

"And why should I be bothered to remember such a trivial time in my life?" Klaus shouts. "A mere twenty odd years spent living a life of vulnerability, of weakness. What's less than three decades to me?" His eyes are bulging, looking at her as if she can give him an answer. "You're young, Caroline. Your life as a human outweighs that of a vampire. You don't understand, not yet."

"Stop making it out like I'm so naïve!" Caroline's shaking with anger now. "You keep saying things like that, that I'll understand when I've aged, that I'll be like you!" She pauses, glaring at Klaus. "I never want to end up like you!"

Klaus is in front of her again in a moment. "Oh, I understand now." He growls. He places his hands on either side of her head, pinning her in place. "All of these expectations of yours…" He cocks his head to the side. "You're trying to see if I've got even a _sliver_of humanity left. You're trying to find out if I'm right or not. Because you're doubting yourself, aren't you, sweetheart?"

"No, I'm not." Caroline hopes he doesn't see the lie plain and obvious on her face. She looks him in the eye, glaring, unflinching, and he's wearing that impatient look again, his mouth twisting as if to start arguing with her again. But instead he hangs his head and steps away from her, and when he looks up there's a smile on his face.

"Whatever you say, love." Klaus turns away from her, leaving the room. "I think we should leave for Dublin in the morning. Get some sleep, Caroline." He calls to her.

The fights out of her, the confrontation leaving her drained. Caroline sits on her bed, staring out her open door. She could leave, of course. But there was finality to his words. Dublin wasn't a suggestion, it was an order. She would leave with him tomorrow. Would he pursue her if she ran? She wasn't sure she wanted to try him. She didn't even know where she'd run to.

So she slept.

Klaus woke her up in a grand mood, smiling and excited. Ireland was beautiful, he told her, much less drab than London. Caroline didn't say much as they packed and left London behind, taking a train to Wales, where they boarded a ferry bound for Dublin. Klaus wanted to change it up, tired of planes, and Caroline enjoyed being able to stare at the country side and ignore Klaus's attempts at conversation. It rained as they crossed the Irish Sea, a gentle downpour that left passengers inside. Klaus read as Caroline looked out over the dark water, ignoring her as she did him.

"I've never been on a boat." She comments, despising herself for trying to fill the silence. She figures they've met a stalemate in their arguing and there's probably little use in dwelling on it. They're both too stubborn to convince each other of the others standpoint, but she thinks that maybe they don't have to. She thinks of Damon and Stefan, the stories she heard of when Damon first arrived, hell bent on convincing his brother to follow his ways, the terrible things he did by way of persuasion. But Damon eventually dropped it, and Stefan eventually forgave him. Caroline wonders if it will work out so well for her and Klaus. She doubts it.

"They have certainly become a more bearable way of travel." Klaus says, turning the page of his book.

"So why Dublin?" Caroline asks after a pause, looking away again. Klaus's eyes flicker up to her for a moment.

"Well if this is going to be a European tour, might as well start somewhere." He says with a shrug.

"No emotional attachment like London?" She smirks.

"No." He turns another page of his book and Caroline gives up.

The rain has stopped by the time they disembark the ferry. The two catch a cab into the city, both looking out their respective windows as they ride. The cab driver is talkative, however, inquiring if they are a couple, here on business or pleasure. Klaus does all the talking, feeding the cabbie some story about them being students at Oxford, here to do some studying for their doctorates. Caroline is struck by how easily Klaus can come up with a story, how he can feed a lie on the spot and how people always eat it up. She's sure she'd be stumbling over her own words if she were in Klaus's position. Of course, she realizes, he's had years of practice to create any number of histories for himself.

"So no romance between you two, eh?" The driver meets Caroline's eyes in the rearview mirror and she blushes.

Klaus laughs, the first time that day, and he actually looks happy. _Years of practice_. "Caroline and I are purely professional, I can assure you, my good man." Caroline almost rolls her eyes. _My good man. He'd rip your throat out in a second, my good man_.

They get dropped off at a quaint and cozy looking inn downtown. Their driver is more than willing to help them with their bags. Klaus checks them into two separate rooms and disappears into his as soon as all their belongings are inside. The sun is beginning to set when Caroline closes the door to her room, neighbors with Klaus, a locked door shared between them. She's tempted to crash, the small, twin sized bed calling to her, but she can't shake the anxiousness she's been left with after the afternoon. She's being a hypocrite, of course, as she's the one who put Klaus in such bad humor, ignoring him at the start, but she at least had a right to. Caroline stuck around, didn't she? Is that not what he wanted?

She showers again, curls her hair, and does her makeup perfectly. She dons a slim fitting, emerald green dress Klaus bought for her and a black blazer, slipping into a new pair of black pumps. It's dark by the time she's ready and knocks on Klaus's door. He answers with a frown.

He inspects her, giving her a quick up and down, and Caroline doesn't miss the way his lips quirk, as though he's tempted to smile. "What is it, Caroline?" He still sounds incredibly bored with her.

"I thought maybe we could go out." She says, suddenly very self-conscious of how dolled-up she is, all for what? To please him? To get him to actually look at her?

Klaus blinks, considering. "I'm going to have to pass tonight, darling." He pauses, lips parted as though tempted to say something else. "However," He begins, raising an eyebrow at her. "You look wonderful, so please don't stay in on account of me."

"I wasn't going to." Caroline says quickly. She flips her hair as she turns, walking down the hallway and leaving Klaus standing in the doorway. "Have a good night, Klaus." She calls. She misses his smirk as he closes the door.

Of course she finds herself simply wandering around, drawn by twinkling lights of shops that have since closed, attracted by the smells of food she has no money to pay for. The sky is clear of any clouds that might have previously occupied it, but the city lights make the stars impossible to see. The moon hangs in the sky, just shy of being full, glowing a pure white with a halo of light around it. Caroline finds herself looking up and sighing. The alone time after four days with Klaus is a welcome break and she can't stop her mind from wondering why she was even still with him.

Caroline had to get out of Mystic Falls, that much she knew. Not only because people were beginning to notice that she hadn't aged a day since seventeen, but because she was being suffocated. Her mother didn't treat her like an adult, disillusioned by her daughter's appearance, the same as that stubborn, selfish daughter she once knew, years ago. Caroline yearned for her friends as well, wherever they were, whatever they were doing. Elena had gone under the radar the past few years, running off with Damon, or Stefan, or both. Bonnie was desperately looking for fellow witches in order to grow further in her craft, and if she had any luck, Caroline didn't know. They left Mystic Falls and everything and everyone in it behind, including her. But Caroline would never fault them for it. They had eternity ahead of them, after all. They were starting theirs.

But Klaus remained a constant. He wouldn't leave her alone. And she'd never admit it, but she valued this, she valued this more than he would ever know.

She'd come up with a million reasons why she had left with him. A matter of convenience, she told herself originally. A matter of safety. And while these reasons were true, Caroline felt like she had been waiting for the day, ever since Klaus had made his prediction, that she'd run away with him. The prediction that her life wouldn't be enough, not for long, anyway, that she'd come to him. But he wasn't exactly right; Caroline wouldn't allow him to be exactly right. She used him; his means, his savvy. She used him to get out and away, because she knew he was more than willing. But she was foolish enough to blind herself to the potential conflicts, the conflicts that were no longer potential but now a wedge between them. She hated that he wouldn't look at her for hours, that he wasn't hanging on her every word. And she hated herself for hating it.

She can pinpoint the reasons though, reasons that leave her feeling like a selfish, spoiled child. Caroline likes Klaus's attention. It makes her feel special, unique. And she has gone through life for so long not feeling that way. She was never the one, she had complained once, drunk and bitter. But for Klaus, she has always been, and, dear god, she likes it.

Caroline finds herself in a small court yard, dark but for a few street lights. It is a separated area, away from the busy streets of downtown, with a few benches and a fountain. She sits on one of the benches with a sigh, rolling her eyes and shaking her head at her thoughts. It must have been late by then, probably growing close to midnight. She should probably head back soon, lest Klaus come looking for her. But the serenity of the area calms Caroline, clears her head of the troubling thoughts that fly about in her mind, untangling her musings. And then of course a group of five obviously drunk men come stumbling along, pleased to find a lone girl in their midst's. They shout to each other in drawling Irish accents, wandering closer and closer to her. If she had been human this might have frightened her, sent her running in the opposite direction, but instead Caroline sits planted on her bench, staring at her hands.

"What's this, then?" One of them asks, coming closer to her. Caroline looks up to meet his gaze. He's tall and thin, with the slightest hint of muscle definition. He looks to be somewhere in his twenties, with a face that is, admittedly, handsome, with a mop of brown hair. His face is thin like the rest of him, with high cheekbones and a pointed chin. He's got mischievous eyes that leave Caroline feeling wary, eyes that widen when their eyes meet. For a moment he looks surprised, and then he grins. "Well hello there." He raises his eyebrows at her, and the rest of his group, hanging back, laughs. "Mind if I sit?" He asks, gesturing to the empty space next to Caroline.

"Feel free." She says with a shrug.

"Ah, American!" He grins, holds out his hand. "I'm Ray."

"Caroline." She gives him a small, wary smile and takes his hand.

"You look like you could use a drink, Caroline." He announces, patting his person down to find a flask.

"I'm fine, really." She says, shaking her head. "I was just about to head back anyway."

"No, come, I insist!" He pulls out a silver flask that was tucked in his breast pocket, waves it around.

"Leave her alone, Ray!" One of his friends call.

"I'm just trying to show her some Irish hospitality!" He yells back, waving his hand at them. He holds the flask out to her and she waves it away. "If you say so." He shrugs. "So what's an American doing in Dublin then?"

"Oh, um…" Caroline hesitates for a moment. "I'm here with to do some research for my doctorate. I'm a student at Oxford." She gives him Klaus's earlier lie, but it doesn't come out nearly as smoothly or convincingly.

Ray seems to accept it, however. "Ah, Oxford." He pronounces it grandly.

"And what is Caroline the American studying at Oxford?"

"History." She says immediately. "I'm here with a colleague as well."

"And where are they tonight?" He looks around as if expecting to spot them.

"He decided he wanted to stay in." Caroline looks off for a moment, frowning. Ray doesn't miss this.

"You sure you'll pass on that drink?" He says, unscrewing the top of it, holding it out to her.

The smell of blood is in the air immediately. Caroline's eyes grow large, looking between the outstretched flask and its owner. He raises an eyebrow at her. His friends go silent as they watch the exchange.

"Is that…?" Caroline gives him a wary look, and suddenly she isn't as confident in her abilities to fend off a group of potentially five male vampires.

"O positive." He says, taking a whiff of the blood. "However, I cannot indulge in it, as my buddies here bet me I couldn't go a week without human blood, and I'm not one to pass up a bet." He smirks at her.

"How did you know I'm…?" She scoots away from him.

"Three hundred years of life makes it pretty easy to spot other vampires. I'm guessing you're still young, then?" He cocks his head to the side. She doesn't say anything, unwilling to forfeit her age to them. Three hundred years old. They'd rip her apart if they wanted to. "Don't look scared, Caroline! You've nothing to fear!" Ray gives her a soft smile. "You haven't met very many vampires, have you?"

"No." Caroline feels herself relaxing and is almost embarrassed at her reaction.

"Well, no, I suppose you can't have if you react that way! I'm guessing the one that turned you wasn't the nicest individual?" She thinks of Katherine, smothering her with Damon's blood in her system.

"No, no they really weren't." Caroline smiles. Ray shakes the flask at her again and she accepts it this time, taking a swig. When she tries to hand it back, he waves her away.

"Finish that off, I've got no use for it." He leans back, looks her up and down. "So, Caroline the American vampire, what's your real story, eh?"

"I'm just traveling." She says, shrugging. She takes another swig of the blood, feeling energized.

"And that comment about having a colleague…that true, or just a line you were feeding a drunk, human male to fend them off?"

"Oh, no, he exists." She purses her lips.

"Your maker?" Ray inquires.

"No, just a…" Caroline hesitates to find the right word. "Companion." _Caroline and I are purely professional, I can assure you…_

"You sound unsure!" He laughs, shaking his head.

"It's a unique relationship, to be sure." She laughs as well. "So what's this about a bet?"

"Oh yeah, that." He throws a thumb to his friends, who have busied themselves splashing each other at the fountain. "Started that three days ago. I'm starving, naturally." Ray laughs.

"Why do it?" Caroline can't imagine starving yourself like that, the self-control you got to have in order to not pounce on the first human you see.

"The rewards will be sweet." He says, eyes twinkling with mischief. "But yes, it's starting to become a pain. I'm not allowed human blood, but I can drink from animals. Not an ideal diet, let me tell you." He sighs, stretching.

Caroline finishes off the rest of the flask, feeling much better than she had been. She hands it back to him with a smile. "Thanks for the drink, Ray."

"Of course, my dear!" Ray tucks the flask back into his jacket. "It wouldn't be any fun if you weren't at the top of your game."

Caroline cocks her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, just a theory my friend Trevor had." He motions to the group, pointing out who he's talking about. "I was complaining about my diet and he suggested I try something potentially better than squirrel." He looks back at Caroline, the smile gone from his face.

Caroline goes very still, staring back at him. She's already connected the dots but she can't stop herself from asking. "What?"

Ray shrugs. "Vampire."

She's up in a second, taking off the stone path that leads to the court yard. He's right behind her, his gang sweeping in as well, laughing jovially. Caroline takes a sharp right down an alley way, but they don't slip up, gaining on her now. She kicks off her heels as she runs, throwing a look over her shoulder. They're only a yard or two behind, and catching up quickly. One of them makes a grab at her, ripping off her blazer instead. Caroline can't help the scream that escapes her lips.

"If you stop running we won't actually kill you!" Ray calls, but Caroline will be damned if she lets him drink her dry. Behind her she hears something crack. She's just enough time to figure out it's the splintering of wood before a stake plunges through her back and out her stomach, the wood ripped from a fence. She gives a gasp and stops in her tracks, falling to her side. Hot tears leak from her eyes from the pain and she screams in agony, trying to pull the stake from her.

But they're to her by then, surrounding her. Ray kneels down next to her, shaking his head. "Now, it's a real shame it came to this, Caroline. I thought we were getting along rather well, didn't you?"

"Go to hell." She spits out, gasping for breath.

He takes her right arm, turning it over to expose her wrist. "That's rude." He says with a shake of his hand. "There's still a debate about whether or not we should kill you, so I'd start being nice." He smells her wrist. "Not bad." He comments.

Caroline's hope is fading fast. She thinks of Klaus, wherever he is, probably asleep. She thinks of his theory, that vampires have a sixth sense when someone they care about is in danger. It's about time for that to kick in, she thinks, desperate. Ray bites into her wrist and Caroline cries out in shock. She grits her teeth and looks up at the sky. Klaus wasn't coming, was he?

"Please don't kill me." She chokes out, feeling the life leaving her as he drinks. They all exchange smiles, looking at Ray.

"Well, since you asked so sweetly-" He stops short, his smile fading to a look of shock. The bloody point of a stake sticks out of his chest, driven right through his heart. He has just enough time to look up at his killer before his skin fades to grey and his veins swell. He collapses next to Caroline.

Klaus pulls the stake from Ray's back, brandishing it to the other four. They hesitate, stepping away from Klaus, taking in the corpse of their friend. They look ready to run but Klaus is quicker than they are. He drives the stake through one of them, ripping the head off another as the corpse of the first one falls. He plunges his fist into the chest of the third, ripping out his heart. The fourth one stands with his back against the brick wall of the alley, consumed with fear. Klaus grabs him by his neck, slamming him against the wall.

"I want you remove the stake from your friend there, and drive it through your own heart." His voice drips with hate as he compels the vampire, who looks shocked and scared.

"You're…" The vampire gasps.

"An Original? How very smart you are." He drops the vampire. "I believe you have a job I asked of you."

The vampire is trying to fight the compulsion with all he can, but it's useless. He kneels down to remove the stake from his friend. Stake in hand, he looks back at Klaus, who bows his head, glaring. The vampire looks away and, with a yell, stabs himself in the chest. He doubles over, falling lifeless on top of his friend.

Klaus is to Caroline in a moment. He brushes the hair back from her face, concern in his eyes. "Darling, I'm going to have to pull this out." He gestures to the stake in her stomach.

"Just do it." She gasps, bracing herself for the pain. Gently, he pushes her on her side, grasping the post with both of his hands. He gives a quick jerk, pulling it out through her back. She cries out. He lays her on her back again.

"You need to feed." Klaus says, brow knitting in concern.

"I'll be fine, I'll heal soon enough." Caroline shakes her head.

"I'd rather speed up the process." Klaus pulls his sleeve back, exposing his wrist to her. He cradles her against him, just as he did before. "Drink, Caroline."

"Klaus-"

"Drink." He orders. Caroline bites into his wrist, her mouth filled with his tangy blood. She wonders if it's the combination of werewolf and vampire that leaves him with his taste, so very different from human blood. Richer, in a way, like dark chocolate compared to milk. She drinks until she feels her wounds healing, the skin and tissue reforming, leaving her good as new. When she pulls away, still leaning against Klaus, he dabs his sleeve over her mouth, cleaning her up.

"Thank you." She breathes, letting out a sigh.

"Do you not remember what I said?" He smiles, standing up, easily raising her up with him.

_I hope you realize that you don't ever have to thank me for saving you._His words swim back to her. Caroline steadies herself against the wall and stares at Klaus. "Right." She smiles. "Well thank you anyway."

They look at each other for a long moment, neither of them saying anything. Klaus has his jaw clenched as though holding back words. Caroline stares warily back, bracing herself for whatever he wants to say.

"Caroline, I'm sorry about last night." Klaus says finally. He sounds genuinely apologetic. "And you were right; I'm not sorry for feeding from her, but I'm sorry for tempting you." He looks to be the one bracing himself now, as though fearing her reply.

Caroline bites down on her lip, looking away from him.

"You need time." He says, nodding. "You go on back to the inn, get yourself cleaned up. And please, try not to run into any malicious vampires while you're at it." Klaus smiles.

"What about the bodies?" Caroline asks, looking over the five vampires.

"I'll take care of that, sweetheart, don't worry." Klaus steps towards her, hesitates. "Why are you always the one getting into trouble?"

"Maybe because I can always count on you to swoop in and save me." She jokes, smiling halfheartedly.

Klaus looks almost surprised, but his face lights up. "That you can be sure of."

They're staring at each other again and Caroline feels a pang of _something._She breaks the stare, heading down the alley way. She stops after a few steps, looking back at him. "How did you find me?"

Klaus shrugs and gives her a small smile. "You really think I was going to let you wander around an unfamiliar city without keeping an eye on you?"

"No." She looks down at her feet. "I suppose not." The words hang in the air between them. Caroline turns and walks away before more can be said, before anything else can be felt.

xx

Review? :) Any and all forms of critique help me out and are greatly welcomed!

-Reels


	4. Transcontinental

Sorry for the delay, this chapter was a bit of a pain to write. It's much shorter than last chapter, which I apologize for. Hope you enjoy! Thank you for all your kind reviews and helpful suggestions. :)

xx

She finds the days passing in a blur, the cities melding into one large metropolis, becoming lost in cultures and language. The excitement of that first week since Klaus entered her life again assuages; weeks pass with no threats to Caroline's life, with no emotional outbursts fueled by Klaus's actions. Their boiling reduces to a simmer, Caroline possessed by gratitude and willingness, Klaus exercising extreme caution. She remembers that she will always be safe with him. She wonders when she will no longer rely on someone to feel safe. She fears she never will.

Caroline decides she feels empty.

Indebted to a man (no, not a man; a monster, a devil; her savior, her protector) she wants nothing more than to hate. Someone she can't hate, because he makes it so _damn_ hard. She feeds off his attention, his advances. Caroline's that lonely only child again, with a father who left her and a mother who worked too much. Caroline wants nothing more than to feel special, and how can she, living in the shadow of her beautiful best friend, who charms without intention, leaves hearts yearning with only a smile. Klaus looks at her as if the stars themselves shine in her eyes, as if the sun rises only when she smiles. And she recognizes it and she wants nothing more than for him to take off those rose-colored glasses and scoff at her plainness and leave her in some rainy European town so she can crawl back home and bury her head in the sand again and forget about all his gifts and smiles and compliments. But he _won't _leave her because she's beautiful and strong and full of light and she _won't _leave him because he's her ticket and her gateway and her tour guide. She'll tell herself that over and over again and forget about any feelings that may or may not have welled up in her when he saved her in Dublin because he's Klaus, he's _Klaus_, _he is Klaus_.

Emptiness is easier than confusion. She doesn't even have to shut her humanity off to feel it, it comes so naturally. She puts her blinders on and focuses on the now because that's all she's got. They call it the past for a reason and looking to the future is enough to leave her reeling because, ideally, she's got a long one ahead of her. Focus on the food in France, she tells herself, the music in Austria. The history of Germany, the rolling hills of Scotland. Take it all in, the first exposure, the first taste of the world that will forever linger in her mind as she crawls over it for centuries. And if Klaus has a charming thing to say she'll smile and roll her eyes and maybe with a click of her tongue give a snappy comeback or maybe with a curve of her mouth accept his comment with a blush and never forget that _he is Klaus_. Ideally she adjusts and doesn't mind the hours travelling, enjoying the scenery and conversations. Ideally she settles and doesn't comment on the blood on his collar when he returns after a few hours disappearance. Ideally she falls asleep alone with a sigh, staring out a window into the streets of whatever land they find themselves in that night, and she doesn't dream of being covered in blood or Klaus leering at her as he sinks his fangs into a faceless victim's throat.

But something's off of course and Caroline refuses to place it because she just wants to feel normal again, she just wants a flow again, and if that flow she finds is with Klaus then she'll take it because it's easier that way, right? Her only offer, one that can be met with ease, an offer that requires only her willingness. It's easier than seeking out anything else, an escape, if an escape is truly what she wants. But as Klaus guides her around ancient cities established hundreds of years ago, keeping a protective hand on her back, she wonders why she can't be doing this alone, when she became so weak and reliant, and she stops herself because those are thoughts that will lead to action and Caroline fears nothing more than the actions that could follow from that.

And besides. She's safe with Klaus.

They find themselves at a café in Paris. The sun shines high in the sky, only a little after noon, and Caroline sips on a coffee while Klaus reads a newspaper. Their waiter returns with the check and comments about something in French. Klaus replies fluently, his accent perfection as though he was a born and bred Parisian.

"How many languages do you know?" Caroline asks, genuinely curious. His answer doesn't surprise her.

"Hundreds. Language is a subject that remains a constant contributor of knowledge. I could spend decades and still never master every language on Earth." Klaus folds his newspaper up, looking off.

"I'd love to learn French," Caroline replies simply.

"And you can. Along with German, Russian, Chinese." There's a twinkle in his eye as he looks at her. "Speaking of which, how does Berlin sound for tomorrow?"

"Berlin sounds good."

Their trip has no guidance, a nonsensical venture that is a luxury to their kind. They would have breakfast in Scotland, dinner in Italy. Klaus was always the one to decide their next location, as though inspiration would strike him out of the blue, his instincts taking her across an entire continent in a matter of hours.

Caroline clutches at a glass of red wine, sipping on it tentatively. Her meal is only half eaten but she's distracted. They are in Florence this time, eating at (Caroline couldn't help but smile) an authentic Italian bistro. A handful of other customers chat with one another in the seating area outside. She is looking west and gives a sigh.

"It's beautiful, don't you think?"

Klaus follows her eyes. The sunset is in its later stages, the sky stained a rich red with a warm orange. The black of night is starting to creep in, a few stars daring to twinkle through the blanket of fiery colors. Clouds hover on the horizon, darkened and highlighted, soft and glowing.

He purses his lips, taking in the sight. "It's a shame how accustomed I've grown to something that was once as breathtaking as a sunset like that," Klaus comments, raising his eyebrow. He continues to stare, a contemplative look coming over him.

"You're right; that is a shame." Caroline quirks an eyebrow at him. "What are you thinking about?"

Klaus flashes a grin. "Just a thought. Something a sight more beautiful than that," he gestures to the setting sun. "And something I haven't seen in a few decades."

"What?" She asks.

But he doesn't tell her because that's half the fun. They arrive in Northern Norway as the sun is rising and pass out, because what's a day wasted to a vampire after all? He wakes her up with a mug of coffee under her nose, a smile and a promise on his lips. They hike as night falls, the snow thick with a layer of ice. Caroline opens her mouth to complain just as vibrant colors streak across the black sky and she can almost cry it's so beautiful. This must be the genuine beauty Klaus had told her about.

"I thought I'd die without seeing the Northern Lights," she breaths, mouth gaping open. The pictures, the movies, they didn't do the scene justice. Greens, blues, maybe the hint of purple, stream across the sky.

"Many people do." Klaus lies down on the snow, looking straight up. He pats the ground next to him and Caroline joins him, wide eyed and smiling.

The world is silent and cold and beautiful, only the sounds of their breathing breaking the quiet. Caroline's going to be covered in snow, her hair ruined by the wet, but such trivial thoughts don't bother crossing her mind because as far as she's concerned this moment is perfect. A perfect moment, shared with Klaus. Caroline wonders if she ever thought it could happen, but of course she didn't; she was always too guarded, he was always too threatening.

"You can see anything you want, Caroline. All of your dreams, they can be made reality," Klaus sighs. She glances at him and the lights electrify his blue eyes. He looks back at her.

"Thank you," Caroline blinks, looks away, taking in the sight again. "For showing me this."

"Beauty for beauty."

They stay until the lights fade away, until any words that could be said flee Caroline's mind. They leave for warmer climates in the morning.

Klaus grows impatient with a location just as Caroline becomes accustomed. He seems antsy to take her anywhere, everywhere. It's as though he's making up for lost time, a decade she spent fighting, when he wanted nothing more than to show her what the world has to offer. In some ways she loves the spontaneity of it all, but she wonders if maybe Klaus is worried; worried that she'll leave him, as she had been so ready to do in London. She almost likes this power she has over him, but then she remembers the fighting, the unspoken insistence that she wasn't going anywhere. _Dublin wasn't a suggestion, it was an order. _Her fear of never being able to go it alone is foolish; what if he never even let her try?

The beaches of Dubai are hot and humid, the water a crystal clear blue and the sands white. Caroline floats on her back, the sun warm and welcomed, twirling the ring that saves her from burning on her finger. She swims in with a wave, trekking back to the umbrella Klaus sits under. Sunglasses sit on the tip of his nose, his head bent as he busily finishes a sketch. Caroline lies down on her towel next to him, examining the drawing.

"Who's that?" The girl in the sketch is beautiful. She possesses an exotic look to her, all dark, curly hair, catlike eyes and full, smirking lips. Klaus sighs and rips the drawing from his sketchbook, crumbling it into a ball.

"A pointless venture," he says by way of reply. "I can't seem to remember her face clearly."

"Stop being vague." Caroline snatches the paper from him, folding it back out. "So she's a real person?"

"Samira." Klaus stares at the drawing. "A friend." His tone is unsure. Caroline looks up at him with a raised eyebrow. "I created her in, oh, the 12th century I believe? She's in Egypt; at least, that's where I left her."

"And you can't remember what she looks like?" Caroline takes his sketchpad. Failed, scribbled out attempts fill the previous pages. "When's the last time you saw her?"

"Oh…1843?" Klaus knits his eyebrow, looking up. "It's been quite some time."

"Why are you trying to remember her face?"

"I thought maybe I'd give her a visit. In some ways you remind me a lot of Samira." Klaus smirks. "Impatient, strong willed, lovely." Caroline purses her lips. "Come now, don't get jealous, love," he laughs. Caroline rolls her eyes, handing back the sketchpad.

"I can't decide if I'm offended or flattered." Caroline stretches out of her towel. "I think I'll go with offended and ignore you the rest of the day. I'm guessing we'll leave for Egypt soon, then?"

"Oh, don't tell me I've become predictable. That just won't do." Despite that, they leave Dubai three days later. Klaus rolls his eyes as Caroline smirks.

The city of Cairo is busy and vast, littered with modern architecture, advanced and sleek, while pyramids loom on the horizon. The sun is beginning to set as Klaus and Caroline roam the streets, exploring bazaars and restaurants. The years since Klaus has last been in the city do not seem to hinder him, as he always finds just who to ask about Samira's whereabouts. He speaks in hushed tones to the Egyptians, whose eyes flick between him and Caroline. She wonders if everyone they meet is a vampire, frightened and intimidated by the Original, wary of her for keeping his company.

Caroline's become distracted by a stall selling colorful scarves, carefully picking through the thin fabric as Klaus stares down the alleyway, tapping at his chin. She pulls out a purple one, cross-stitched with blue fabric and a pattern of orchids around the ends, sewn in white thread. Caroline holds it up to Klaus. "What do you think?"

Klaus's eyes flick to the scarf for a second and he shakes his head, analyzing the selection for only a moment before pulling out a different scarf. "I think red is more your color." He couldn't sound more bored.

Caroline takes the scarf he picked, handing the purple one back to the vendor who gives a smile. She examines the red scarf, accented in yellow with roses embroidered in it, stems snaking around the entirety of it. Of course he has better taste than her. She makes her purchase and she and Klaus continue on down the alley.

"If you're bored of shopping we can do something else," she says, giving a small shrug.

"Certainly not. You're enjoying yourself, aren't you?" He asks, giving her a sideways glance.

"Oh yeah, of course, but I mean, you seem…distracted."

"Samira's proving to be rather elusive," Klaus admits, giving a small sigh.

"Well, you _are_ her maker. I guess she learned from the best." Caroline eyes some jewelry and comes to a stop again, fiddling with a display of necklaces.

"I can't help but feel she's avoiding me." Klaus plucks a necklace from the selection and brings it around Caroline's neck. She lets him, straining to see the pendant that hangs from it. It's a simple silver oval with a floral carving in black etched into it. Simple, elegant. Caroline decides Rebekah is to blame for his good taste.

"Well did you piss her off in 1843?" Caroline asks, passing the vendor a few bills for the necklace.

"I seem to anger her every time we encounter each other. Sound familiar?" Klaus grins and Caroline gives him a pointed look.

"Then I'm sure it's always merited."

Night falls a few hours later, Klaus becoming increasingly agitated. He keeps a smile on for Caroline though, but she's wary of him; the displeased look on his face leaves her worried, scared he might act out, so unaccustomed to not getting his way. They have dinner at an incredibly high class restaurant obviously meant for the enjoyment of tourists, the waiters all fluent in English. Klaus is throwing back his fourth gin and tonic when Caroline finally says something.

"Maybe she isn't here anymore," she suggests gently.

"Impossible," Klaus snaps, eyeing his empty glass. Their waiter perks up and makes his way to them. Caroline waves him away with a tight smile, Klaus oblivious.

"How so?"

Klaus sighs heavily as if Caroline is missing something obvious. "Because Cairo is where she belongs."

"I'm going to need some explanation, Klaus," Caroline replies, her tone equally annoyed.

He stares back at her a moment, thoughts and words rolling around in his mind. "Samira was created for a very specific purpose." Caroline says nothing, giving him an impatient look. Klaus breathes another sigh. "I need another drink."

"No, you don't," She snaps, snatching his glass from his hand. Klaus gives her a pointed look and she passes him her glass of water. He rolls his eyes and gives up.

"With constantly being pursued by my father, I liked to keep informants in all corners of the world," He begins, taking a drink from the water. "It was easier to keep track of where he might be, to know if he was close."

"Go on," Caroline insists.

"Well, Samira was created to be an informant. I liked to keep one in all of the big cities of the world," Klaus taps his chin, looking off. "And I couldn't have them leaving their posts."

"You compelled her to stay," Caroline states.

"Yes, I compelled her to stay. Thus, why our meetings often end unpleasantly."

"She wants to leave," Who could blame her, Caroline wonders. 800 years in the same city, watching year after year, decade after decade, as society changes, unable to ever explore the world, see how it changed, too. Only ever hearing stories of other lands. She thinks about what life would be like in Mystic Falls for eight centuries. It's not an appealing thought at all.

"She does, and I would gladly remove the compulsion now if I could only find her," Klaus rubs his eyes.

"But then she has to be here," Caroline says hopefully.

"Indeed she does. Which is why she has to be avoiding me."

Their thoughts wander from one another, Caroline still wrapping her head around Klaus's compulsion of Samira. It seems such a terrible concept, being trapped for so long. Klaus never truly died, his being always active, alive, even when living through a different body, so the compulsion must have never broken. And even if it had been, would Samira have known, would she have even dared to try and leave, would she even think to?

They check into an expensive hotel, separate rooms as usual. Klaus, drunk and moody, retires early, and Caroline is left alone with her thoughts. The moon is a sliver in the sky when Caroline finally crawls into bed, the city quiet in the late hours of the night. As she drifts off to sleep, she hopes that tomorrow they find Samira, if not to free her then to at least relieve Klaus of his agitation. His drawings swim back to her mind, of the enigma with dark, wild hair, with clear, catlike eyes.

It's still dark with Caroline wakes up with one hand around her neck, another over her mouth. Green eyes glow from the darkened face that hovers just in front of Caroline's, a curl of black hair hanging between them.

"It's about time Klaus showed up with a weakness," The girl's voice is clear and dripping with venom. "You must be Caroline. It's lovely to meet you; you might have already guessed, but I'm Samira."

xx

I think I ended with a classic Vampire Diaries cliffhanger. Next chapter shouldn't be too much of a wait!

Reviews are my life's blood in case you didn't know. Heh. Thanks for reading!

-Reels


	5. Cairo

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows! Sorry about the wait! Hope you find it worth it? Heh. Enjoy!

xx

In many ways, Caroline misses being human.

She misses the naivety, the days when vampires and werewolves only existed in melodramatic fiction, when the only thing she had to fear was her imagination running wild. The things that went bump in the night were only owls, snakes, creeping insects. The most intimidating thing she might ever encounter a popular, pretty girl, threatening to take Caroline's superficial status. Caroline misses the trivial things she worried about as a human. What college would she apply to, what career did she want to pursue? What if she died alone, old and boney, with nothing but a few cats for company? The innocence of mortality in some ways seems so much more desirable than the life she now leads.

Caroline wonders if any vampire is truly happy. If their lives are peaceful. If decades can pass with no threat of danger, just time. Time to enjoy the gift, if it is a gift at all, of immortality. A chance men have yearned for since the dawn of time, a way to beat death, to survive their short existence. Caroline wonders if that's the price vampires must pay; lives wrapped in danger, never fully feeling safe. There's always something. Something to run from, to fight. Sure, months can pass; hell, if you're lucky, maybe even years, where you can relax. But something new will pop up; some new threat will emerge just when you think those dark days have passed. Caroline supposes she has only herself to blame, though. An Original vampire is more often than not the source of all those threats.

Samira is still holding Caroline in place with both of her hands. As her mind swims back to consciousness, Caroline takes in the centuries old vampire. She appears to be so young, her body certainly not aged passed fifteen or sixteen. Her skin is a creamy light brown, her hair black. Her eyes are round and angled, heavy lidded and lined in black, and give away just how old her soul is. Her nose is perfectly straight, thin, and slightly turned up at the end. She's beautiful and looks so innocent, but her grip is strong. Caroline's no match for her so she doesn't even try to fight. The vampire is surprisingly gentle with her, but threats loom in her voice.

"Make this easier for yourself, Caroline," Samira tells her softly, an iron grip around her neck. "I've got nothing against you, of course, but you have to understand where I'm coming from. Listen carefully now; I've got vervain, I've got wooden bullets, and we can always break some bones. However, I hate dirtying my hands, and you seem like a smart girl, so just do as I say and no one needs to get hurt."

Samira's certainly the nicest person to ever hold her hostage. She blindfolds Caroline, still lying in bed, and speaks in hushed Arabic to others. There are suddenly two pairs of hands on Caroline, judging from the size, male, jerking her out of bed. Samira snaps at them in Arabic and their grips loosen. Caroline has half a mind to try and bolt for the door, but she figures it a pointless venture. She'd very much like to avoid any stabbings, shootings, burnings, bindings, or breakings. Caroline's got the whole torturing thing figured out by now.

One of her captors hoists her up, cradling her in his arms as they clamper out her open window. Caroline keeps herself very stiff and awkward in his hold, chewing on her lip. Klaus will, of course, be furious, and when he does find her, which he always does, and anyway, Samira probably wants to be found, he will probably be ready to crack some skulls. Caroline doesn't necessarily feel scared to be taken. Nervous, to be sure, but she finds herself feeling almost sympathetic to Samira's cause. She wonders just how fast Stockholm Syndrome can kick in.

They speed run to wherever their destination is, Caroline kept in her holder's arms the whole way there. They climb a set of stairs and enter into a cool building, the group's shoes clicking loudly on marble flooring. Caroline is set down on her feet, bare and cold, and her blindfold is removed. They're in a huge, ornate room, finely furnished with a large chandelier hanging from the high ceiling. One wall is made almost completely out of windows, thick and heavy curtains drawn to let the moonlight spill in. If she acted fast enough she could crash through one of them, but of course she has no idea where she was or how to get back to the hotel. Caroline isn't exactly feeling up to a midnight run in a foreign city in only her pajamas anyway. The addition of centuries old vampires pursuing her doesn't make the idea any more glamorous.

The doors to the room are closed behind her, two men standing guard in front of them. Caroline stares at them and they stare back, as if daring her to even try. She gives a small sigh. Before each window stands a different vampire, a few female though the majority male. Samira strolls over to a love seat facing the windows and lays down on it, picking at her fingernails.

"Are you hungry or anything, Caroline?" She asks, glancing up at her. "We've got any type you could want, though I think we're running low on AB."

"Um," Caroline stands awkwardly near the doors, where she had been put down. "I'm fine."

"You can have a seat if you'd like; I suppose we'll be waiting a while before Klaus shows up," Samira sits up, shaking out her mane of curly hair. Caroline shifts her weight from one foot to another and crosses her arms over her chest. She gives the windows another sideways glance. "What is it?" Samira asks, standing again and making her way to Caroline. She's almost a full head shorter than Caroline.

"Well," Caroline twists her mouth hesitantly, searching for the right words. "I'm a little confused."

"What about?"

"For starters, you're being rather hospitable for taking me captive and all," Caroline shrugs.

"'Captive,'" Samira spits the word out, shaking her head. "Such a harsh term. No, Caroline, you're more of our guest. Any friend of Klaus is a friend of mine!" She declares jovially.

"A guest that is being used as collateral against Klaus," Caroline is suddenly feeling very tired and cranky and completely over her damsel in distress role.

Samira sighs, tapping her chin. "Yes, you are correct on that. However, if Klaus is compliant I don't see why we should tie you up in the basement with only bread and water for sustenance."

"And when he isn't compliant is when you start feeding me vervain and shooting me, right?" Caroline snaps. She would almost prefer to be tied up in the basement to this; Samira acting like a friend, trying to get Caroline to warm up to her.

Samira stares at Caroline for a moment and then bursts into laughter. "Oh, gods, but you're being so serious! Honestly, I took you to get his attention. He needs to know that I'm done being pushed around by him and certainly over any fear I once had. It has never been my intention to harm you, Caroline, I assure you. We don't even have any vervain!" Samira bursts into laughter again as if the whole situation is hilarious.

Caroline is staring at her, mouth open. "But, but then, why…" She shakes her head, struggling to form a coherent thought. "Why do you think he'd come for me, anyway? What makes you think I'm so important to him? You called me his weakness. What makes you think that?"

Samira raises an eyebrow at her, a smirk on her lips as if she's fighting back more laughter. "Really now, Caroline, I thought you were a smart girl. One day of tailing you two and I picked up on just how protective of you he is."

"Then are you not scared he'll kill you when he does come?" Caroline doesn't argue; it's pointless, like many things are proving to be tonight.

"Oh, Klaus wouldn't kill me," Samira waves her hand at Caroline and turns away, heading back for the love seat.

"You sound confident on that," Caroline says, raising an eyebrow.

"My maker and I have a long history, Caroline. While I'm sure you know just how…" Samira trails off, looking for the right word. "_Vicious_ he can be, he has always been reluctant to destroy his own creations. He's a rather possessive individual."

Caroline thinks of Tyler. He had given Klaus numerous reasons to kill him, from breaking his sire bond without Klaus's knowing, to never backing down when it came to herself. She supposes Samira is right about that. Caroline hopes she isn't being arrogant, thinking Klaus might have a stronger reaction this time. Images of the gymnasium swim to her mind.

"For your sake, I hope you're right about that…" Caroline mutters.

Samira turns her head sharply to Caroline, suddenly looking less amiable. "You'd be smart to watch your tongue, Caroline," Her voice is dangerous again, threatening, and Caroline remembers that this girl could rip her apart before she could even scream.

"And you'd be smart to not threaten her again, Samira."

Everyone's heads whip to the doors, open now. The two men who were standing guard are on the ground, necks twisted unnaturally. Klaus stands between them, arms crossed over his chest, glowering at Samira. She rises from the love seat and hesitates, eyes on her two henchmen. "I must thank you for not killing them, Klaus. I do enjoy those two."

"Oh, there's still time for that, Samira," Klaus takes a step toward her. "However, I thought I'd give you the chance to explain yourself."

"Easily, Klaus," Samira gives a small shrug, a smirk on her lips. "I kidnapped your little girlfriend."

"And your ransom is…?" Klaus's eyes flicker to Caroline, who stands exactly between the two.

"My freedom; what else?"

"And what's stopping me from killing every single one of you as punishment for your foolish actions?" Klaus smiles now, a smile so feral and dangerous that Caroline can't help but look away. "You know I don't like my things taken from me."

Caroline doesn't have time to object. Samira is directly behind her, holding her by her wrists with one hand while her other arm loops around her neck, crashing her against Samira's small form. "The same thing that's stopping me from ripping off her head," Samira replies, and Caroline can hear the smile in her voice.

Klaus sighs. "I told you not to threaten her again, Samira."

"You know how I enjoy pushing you to your limits, Klaus."

The three stand that way for a moment, Klaus glowering at Samira while she smiles triumphantly back. Caroline is panicking now, Samira's previous words of being a guest and to not bring her harm fleeing her mind. And suddenly the tension is gone, Klaus breaking out into a grin while Samira lets out a laugh, releasing Caroline and running to her maker. Samira throws her arms around his neck, jumping off her feet and Klaus spins her, returning the hug. When he sets her down she crosses her arms, raising an eyebrow at him. "Though I was being quite serious about my freedom and all," Samira says.

"Of course you were, love, but I must say I would lower the antics next time. I was _this close_," Klaus holds to fingers together, only a centimeter apart, "to killing every one of your little friends."

"But of course you were," Samira nods her head knowingly. "You know I've always had a fondness for the dramatic."

"So is that why you avoided me all day?" Klaus asks, arms folded over his chest. "To make a grand entrance?"

"Obviously," Samira smiles. "Though I hope I didn't upset you too much. I assure you Caroline only felt endangered, what, two times?" She swings her head back to look at Caroline, who is standing completely still with her mouth open wide.

"Ah, um, yeah," Caroline says stupidly. She's having a little difficulty processing, sure all hell was about to break loose only moments ago. "Yeah, two sounds about right."

"We were perfectly good-natured and she was incredibly compliant," Samira asserts, nodding her head.

"I've had practice," Caroline mutters, glancing at the ceiling with a shrug.

"Well as long as Caroline is unharmed…" Klaus looks to her this time for assurance. She gives a quick nod and a tight-lipped smile. "Then I am perfectly willing to meet your demands. Any threat to my family has been vanquished, so I suppose your duty has been served. An honor, I'm sure," Samira rolls her eyes and Klaus gives her a smile. "Now, then, I'm sure you realize how lucky you are that I am fond of you," He rests his hands on her shoulders, looking directly in her eyes. "You are free to travel the Earth, Samira."

Samira gives an excited jump, clapping her hands together. "Finally!" She shouts.

Klaus goes to Caroline as Samira celebrates. "You are fine, aren't you?" He asks quietly, concern all over his face.

"Oh, yeah. She's easily the nicest person to kidnap me," Caroline smiles but Klaus raises an eyebrow, unsure. "Honestly, Klaus. They didn't hurt me once. I think Samira was just trying to get a little attention from a neglectful maker."

"You've got her pegged, sweetheart," Klaus stops, and something flashes in his eyes, as if he wants to say more. "You know you'll be the death of me one day, Caroline."

Caroline doesn't have time to consider this before Samira approaches them. "I really must apologize, Caroline. Like I said, nothing personal."

"Oh, no worries," Caroline's decided she's incredibly unsure of her, scared to say anything smart. The way Samira's eyes had flashed earlier has left her feeling guarded.

Samira crosses her arms, looking contemplative. "I've frightened you, haven't I?" Samira looks to Klaus, who raises an eyebrow. "That just won't do. I'm really not one for the whole scary-dangerous-vampire scene."

"Well, you're pretty good at it," Caroline replies with a shrug. Klaus lets out a laugh.

"But I hate to think I made a bad first impression!" Samira cries, giving Caroline a pitiful look. "Spend the day with me tomorrow, Caroline. I promise to make it up to you."

Caroline gives Klaus a sideways glance. "I thought you'd be catching the first ticket out of here, Samira," Klaus says, giving Caroline a small smile.

"What's another day?" She says with a shrug. "It'll be worth it, anyway. She's got to be something special to catch your eye, Klaus," Samira's eyes shine as she looks at him.

"You're right about that," Klaus's smile softens.

Embarrassment washes over Caroline. "Right, well, that sounds great, Samira," She says quickly, cheeks pink.

"Wonderful!" Samira flashes a brilliant smile at Caroline. "Then I'll be at your hotel at, say, 10?"

"You know where to find me," Caroline says. Klaus gives another snort.

"Let's return then," He says, and his hands on the small of her back again. Protective. Possessive. He begins steering Caroline from the room.

"See you tomorrow!" Samira calls after them.

As the doors close behind them, Caroline releases the breath she's been holding.

"I think I have whiplash," She mutters, peeking over her shoulder at the large mansion they're leaving.

"Samira is rather…eccentric."

"There's a word for it. I thought she was going to kill me for a minute there."

"She isn't stupid, Caroline," Klaus looks at her. "You're positive you're alright?"

"Nothing a good night's sleep and a bottle of liquor can't fix," Klaus smiles at this.

"Well if it makes you feel better, you can stay with me tonight," Mischief gleams in his eyes. Caroline rolls hers.

"Nice thought, Klaus, but I don't think I'll be kidnapped twice in one night. Though it would be a record," She stops, glancing at Klaus. "Thanks for coming to my rescue. Again."

"It's one of my favorite things to do, Caroline," Klaus smiles at her. "Though, luckily, it wasn't nearly as life threatening this time."

"You gotta shake things up sometimes," Caroline suddenly remembers something. "Also, don't refer to me as your property."

"Wouldn't dream of it, love. That was simply for intimidation purposes only, I assure you," He looks like he's holding back a laugh.

Caroline quirks an eyebrow at him. "Good," She bites out. Klaus lets out that laugh.

xx

Rather short compared to previous chapters, I apologize. Anyway, this turned out incredibly lighthearted compared to what I originally had planned! Hope you still liked it, previous chapters have kinda been oozing with angst and drama so I thought maybe a break was in order.

If you'd like, review! They're what keeps me going!

-Reels


	6. Cairo, Cont'd

As always thanks for the support! I'm going back to school in just a few weeks and I know I will stop writing when I do so I'm trying to finish this story up quickly. Hope you enjoy!

xx

"Do you love him?"

She's careful not to react. She sips her coffee and stares off. Does she love Klaus?

No. No she doesn't.

Samira arrived at her hotel at 10 o'clock sharp, just as she had promised. Eagerly, she had tugged at Caroline's arm, promising a day of fun, that they'd be the best of friends by its end. Caroline had stared at Klaus, who had walked her out. He gave her an encouraging smile but she didn't miss the warning look he had given Samira. Caroline gave a silent prayer that Samira wouldn't decide to kill her and then flee with her new found freedom. That idea seemed rather reasonable.

Smile and nod, she told herself. Surely Samira wouldn't get offended if she only smiled and nodded.

They shopped in huge, foreign department stores. Samira behaved like a teenaged girl, seeking Caroline's advice on this top, forcing Caroline to try on that dress. Caroline wondered if she dared to think she was having a good time.

Samira proves to be, oddly, incredibly naïve. She begs Caroline to share stories of America, interested in the movies, books, music. Caroline can see the envy rolling off of her as she recounts the many countries she has visited since leaving her home. Caroline is reminded of a child who never gets her parent's permission to go out; resentful, desperate, and full of expectations for the world. But then, that's probably an accurate comparison. That pities there again and Caroline wonders if it's merited. The previous night still has her head reeling.

"So you really weren't going to kill me, huh?" They're having dinner in a small restaurant, business slow and the waiters watching them like hawks. Caroline picks at her dessert, a pastry filled with custard and covered in sugary syrup. It's almost too sweet for her, taking large gulps from her coffee in between bites. Their waiter is as her elbow in a moment, refilling her mug. She gives him a smile in thanks.

"No, Caroline, I was never going to kill you. Klaus wouldn't have hesitated to destroy me in a moment, I'm sure," Samira gives the waiter a nod as he takes her plate, thanking him in Arabic.

"What makes you think he cares about me so much?" Caroline averts her eyes from her companion, frowning at her pastry.

"What makes you fight so hard against the thought?" Samira smirks at her. She pulls a long, brown cigarette from her bag, lighting the end. She takes a drag from it, blowing the smoke from her nose. "Klaus looks at you as he used to look at me."

Caroline's brow knits, looking up at Samira. "Were you two…lovers?" She ventures.

Samira quirks an eyebrow. "Would you be jealous if we were?" She inquires.

Caroline feels her cheeks go hot. "No, of course not," She says quickly, looking away again.

"Relax, Caroline," Samira says with a laugh. "It was nothing like that. He was more of an older brother, you could say. He saved my life." Caroline gives her a curious look, ushering her on to continue. "I was only fifteen. He found me on the streets, starving. He was unlike anyone I had ever seen, with his pale skin and blue eyes. I was afraid of him," Something softens in Samira's eyes. "But, he turned me, instead. I didn't understand a word he said to me, but I learned, quickly. He told me he did it because, seeing someone so young on the brink of death just…didn't sit well with him."

The night of Caroline's eighteenth birthday springs to mind. Klaus telling her she could have a thousand more birthdays, all she had to do was ask.

Samira chuckles softly. "Klaus held life in higher regard in those days. And I was, and still am, I suppose, eternally indebted to him. I became attached to him. I had no one; only him, my savior. I begged him not to leave me when he did, with nothing but a compulsion to remain in Cairo and keep my eyes and ears alert for a man named Mikael. He promised to return to me, one day, and I clung to that promise. For decades I awaited his return, and when he didn't come, I grew so resentful. I wanted to find him myself, because being alone like that, everyone I knew meeting their eventual end…" She trails off, closing her eyes as though the memories are too painful to bear. "It drove me mad. So I created companions for myself. Learned that Klaus wasn't the only person in the world I had. And then the desperation to leave Egypt, to discover the world on my own settled inside me." Her face darkens. Caroline finds herself hanging on her every word. "And yet, every time he returned those thoughts seemed to flee my mind because he had come back to me," she rolls her eyes. "And if I ever brought it up he would disregard the thought. If I pushed he'd grow angry. I was never so stupid to abandon my fear of him." Samira's cigarette has burned halfway down, pure ash. She remembers it, flicking the ash off and taking another long drag that burns it down a third of the way. She billows the smoke out like a chimney.

"But then I arrived with him," Caroline says.

"Yes," Samira smiles. "I've never thought Klaus foolish, but he should have known I'd pounce at any opportunity to get the upper hand on him. You played your role well, Caroline."

"Happy to oblige," Caroline mutters, unable to stop herself from rolling her eyes.

"So why would you voluntarily accompany Klaus?" Samira asks suddenly, looking at her in interest.

Caroline mulls over all of the reasons she's considered in her head. Because he was her escape; it was convenient to have someone willing to take her away. She's safe with him, which is an idea that is entirely debatable at this point. Because she enjoys the attention he showers on her (that one still left a bad taste in her mouth.)

"I don't know," She says finally, dumbly.

Samira cocks her head to the side. "Do you love him?"

Caroline blinks, bringing her mug to her lips. She watches the smoke that flees the end of Samira's cigarette, spinning around in swirls, reaching higher and higher until it disappears. "No."

But could she?

She shoves everything aside. The plans to murder her best friend, the murders he succeeded on. His control of Tyler, the possession of him, and the consequential trickery. Turning Stefan into a monster. The numerous times he had lashed out at her, for her judgment, her resilience to give in to his charm. She thinks about everything else. The gifts. The smiles. The genuine interest in her. _Beautiful, strong, full of light. Thank you for your honesty. It's me, you're safe. Your life is one I won't allow to end any time soon._ That damn pang she felt in Dublin. That comment last night, about her being the death of him. And she's filled with…something. A longing. A wish that that's all there was to Klaus. No murder plots, no rage, manipulation. But she knows that isn't fair, because that's what makes Klaus, Klaus.

And she's left wondering if that's something she can ever accept.

Samira gives her another smile. "Good. I knew you were a smart girl."

"But…" Caroline hesitates. "The way you longed for him all those years. Did you never love him?"

"Of course I did. I care for my maker deeply, don't get me wrong. However, after my initial centuries-long infatuation with him, his absence wasn't one I spent nights crying over. He is an incredibly possessive individual who has never enjoyed another's free will," She states simply. "Once you look past his charm, he makes himself incredibly hard to love."

_Understatement of the year_, Caroline thinks to herself. "But…" She's stuck on it, the side of Klaus he seems to only share with her. She thinks back, how he told her of his release of his siblings. "Don't you think he's changed?" Why does she need this confirmation? Why does she even bother asking?

_Dublin wasn't a suggestion. It was an order._

Samira scoffs. "Just ask yourself, Caroline; if you tried to leave tomorrow, would he let you?" Caroline has no reply for her, because she doesn't know the answer to that question herself. Realization seems to dawn on Samira's face. "You don't love him, but you could, couldn't you?" Caroline's brow knits, hating herself for being so easily read. She remains silent, afraid of anything she might say.

Samira surprises her, reaching a hand across the table and taking one of Caroline's. She looks up and Samira gives the hand a squeeze. "Just promise me, Caroline. Don't become tethered to Klaus. If you're going to live an eternity, your freedom is something you must acquire early," Samira pauses, letting go of Caroline's hand. "And Klaus may be reluctant to let you have it."

Caroline swallows thickly, looking away from her. She's right. Of course she's right. She's known Klaus for centuries, seen him change, grow into the monster he came to be. The monster he still is? Jury's still out on that one.

"I've troubled your mind," Samira states. "I'm sorry, Caroline. Truly."

Caroline shakes her head. "No, no, Samira. You're right," She still won't look at her though. "I think I should head back now."

Samira says no more. She picks up the bill despite Caroline's protests, saying with a sad smile, "It's the least I can do." She offers to walk Caroline back to her hotel but Caroline insists that it's fine, that alone time will help clear her head. At least, she hopes it will.

As they part ways, Samira hugs Caroline. "Tell Klaus I said goodbye, will you?"

"Of course," Caroline knits her eyebrow. "When are you leaving?"

"Tonight, just as soon as I get back," Excitement gleams in her green eyes.

"Where will you go?"

"I don't know yet," Samira gives a small shrug. "Anywhere, everywhere. Any place out of Cairo is a start," She pauses, blinking at Caroline. Again she takes her hand and gives it a squeeze. "I hope to see you again, Caroline."

"I hope to see you again, too, Samira," Caroline surprises herself by being completely honest with her. Caroline's never been good at goodbyes and finds herself feeling almost sad. Maybe it's the company of someone besides Klaus being lost that fuels it. Maybe it's because Caroline can actually see herself befriending this vampire, as back-and-forth as Samira is.

"Well, Caroline, whatever you do," Samira steps away from her. "I wish you luck." She stops, looking Caroline squarely in the eye. "Just remember what I said."

Caroline stiffens. "I will. Goodbye, Samira."

"Goodbye, Caroline," She says softly. Samira turns from her, disappearing into the shadows in a moment.

Caroline finds herself alone on the streets of Cairo. She thinks, the thoughts finally hitting her full force.

She doesn't love Klaus. Doesn't, but could. It's a realization that's still hard to swallow. Caroline could start recounting everything he's ever done, every evil deed, every crime, but what's the point? She's known it all along, ever since that dress appeared on her doorstep and he requested she save him a dance. And yet, here she is, possibly, maybe, falling for Klaus. A dangerous thing, indeed. And all those troubling thoughts that had plagued her mind since she had fled Mystic Falls with him are back. Asking herself, why can't she go it alone? Since when did Caroline Forbes turn into such a dependent person? But she hates being alone, recounting all those nights that her mother worked late and she was left to fend for herself. She couldn't count how many nights she had begged Elena or Bonnie to let her stay with them, purely because she was deprived of company, abandoned to her own devices and thoughts. It was something that made her weak, she knew. Independence was a trait she always envied Bonnie. And Samira was right; if Caroline continued down the path she was she would never grow herself, stuck relying on someone else constantly. And not just any someone; Klaus. Klaus, who just as equally hated the thought of being alone. Klaus, who compelled, stabbed, and bred an army just so he would always have _someone_. If she tried to leave tomorrow, would he let her?

No. No, of course he wouldn't.

But she finds herself returning to him, because what else can she do? She returns to her own room, careful not to draw attention to herself, afraid to face him now, with these thoughts racing through her mind. But he knows she back and she can't ignore his light knocking on her door.

"How was your day?" He asks, looking over her as though for any injuries. She's touched at the gesture and remembers how he strapped Elena to a chair and drained her of her blood.

"It was fine, Klaus," It comes out impatiently and he looks almost hurt at her tone. Guilt creeps up on her and she remembers how he tried to get Bonnie to destroy herself by exceeding her magical limits. "I'm sorry, I'm just tired," _Way to be weak, Forbes_. "It was good. Samira isn't all that bad after all."

"No, I suppose she isn't," Klaus senses something off about her and gives her an inquiring look.

"She told me to tell you goodbye, by the way. She's leaving Cairo tonight," Caroline says quickly.

"Ah," Klaus nods to himself. "Yes, she's probably incredibly eager to leave."

"Yep," Silence falls between the two. Caroline leans against her doorframe.

"Are you alright, Caroline?" He asks after a moment, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I'm fine, really. Just tired and a little frazzled," She forces a smile but Klaus still looks unconvinced. "I think I'm a little burned out on Cairo. Where to next?"

Klaus seems to brighten at this. "Where would you like to go? Are you feeling more European or Asian?"

Caroline lets out a chuckle at the question, and the worry slowly disappears from Klaus's face. "How about Asia?"

"Good answer, love. I was thinking you'll just adore India."

After he says goodnight and Caroline closes her door, she decides she's going to leave Klaus. She doesn't know when or how, but she's going to. As she falls asleep she thinks of his eyes and mouth, the way her name sounds on his tongue, and recites to herself over and over, '_He is Klaus. He is Klaus. He is Klaus._'

It doesn't help.

xx

The chapters are getting shorter and shorter and for that I'm sorry. I'll try to lengthen them up from now on. :)

Hope you liked!

Since you made it this far, why not a review? ;)

-Reels


	7. Tokyo

Thanks for everything you guys. :)

xx

It takes everyone four months before they realize that Caroline's gone away with Klaus. She receives phone call after phone call, her phone constantly buzzing with texts. As she types out, '_No one worry, I'm fine, xo_', and sends it in a mass text, she wonders how honest she's being.

She only takes one phone call. When Stefan's name appears on her phone she's almost too eager to answer.

"Hello?" Caroline is alone, thankfully, Klaus out retrieving more blood for her. The way his eyes had flashed every time her phone had begun ringing had left her feeling anxious.

"Caroline, where are you?" Stefan demands as if he'll take the next flight he can get.

"I'm with Klaus," She says, dodging the question.

"Yeah, _that_ I know," Stefan snaps back and she can picture the face he's probably making all too well.

"Stefan, like I said, I'm fine, I promise," Caroline urges, but her heart isn't in it and Stefan doesn't miss that.

"Did he compel you, Caroline?" His voice is heavy with worry now. Caroline can't help but feel touched.

"No, Stefan, of course not," She sighs.

"Then what are you doing with him?" Confusion now and still the slightest bit of skepticism.

"Look, something happened in Mystic Falls and I had to leave. It's way too long of a story and he's going to be back soon. I promise I'll fill you in when I can, ok, Stefan? Just don't worry about me," Caroline smiles to herself. "Klaus is someone I've always been able to handle."

Stefan is quiet for a long moment and she hears him breathe a sigh. "Just, Caroline…if anything happens, let me know, ok?"

"I will, Stefan." Caroline pauses. "And please explain to Elena and Bonnie that I really _am_ fine, will you? No compulsion here."

"I will," Stefan says, doubt still clear in his voice. "I'll talk to you soon?"

"Yeah, soon," Caroline promises. "Bye, Stefan."

"Goodbye, Caroline. Be careful," he says before hanging up.

Caroline stares at her phone for a long time after he hangs up, wondering when she'll see him again.

Her mind becomes clouded and haunted, every interaction with Klaus replaying themselves over and over in her head. She wonders when she stopped hating him completely, but then, did she ever _hate _him, really? Fear reigned before hate. Klaus, a name that lingered on everyone's lips long before he finally took the stage, masked by Alaric Saltzman's face. And even when he almost killed Bonnie, Caroline wouldn't say she felt hate for him. The fear grew inside of her, to see his power, how carefully he planned each step before he revealed himself. When he had her captured to be sacrificed, only to have the day saved by _Damon_ of all people, she was too worried about Tyler, too sad to fill her head with any thoughts of hate.

She hated him as she watched Elena mourn. She hated him when he took Stefan away. She hated him when he turned Tyler into a hybrid, robbing him of his free will.

Just as quickly as the hate started to grow it seemed to assuage. The gifts (_he won't buy me off_, she told herself), the charm (_get to know him? What's more to know that he's a murdering psychopath?_), the exchanges of soft smiles (_smile, Caroline, and maybe he won't rip your heart out_), the swooping in to save her (_I'm safe? In _your_ arms?)_. But she felt herself slipping up. Allowed herself to think that maybe Klaus wasn't as evil as he made himself out to be. _I'll take you. Anywhere you want. Thank you for your honesty. I want to talk about you. We'll save Elena, you go straight home. _Instances of humanity, of kindness. Confrontations that left her head reeling.

They travel farther east. New Delhi is vast and sprawling, possessing architecture and culture unlike any Caroline has ever dreamed. China proves to be another culture shock as well. Caroline insists they visit the Great Wall even when Klaus complains of the crowds. She distracts herself, donning the role of the average American tourist and keeping thoughts of leaving at bay. Klaus had noticed her behavior change the first couple of days following her conversation with Samira and Caroline decides she can't afford to have him suspicious of her, afraid of the repercussions. Only when she is alone does she entertain the idea, sorting out when she could possibly attempt her escape (because she's almost 100% positive she'll have to escape in order to leave.) In the meantime she sighs at the sights, eats food that is too spicy for her taste, and dents Klaus's funds with her impulse buys. _Nothing has changed_, she tells herself, even when she allows Klaus's touches to linger longer than she used to and 'romantic' starts coming to mind as a descriptive word.

They arrive in Tokyo three weeks after leaving Cairo. Klaus looks almost smug as he ticks off the second of the three cities he had promised her.

They spend the first day exploring, Klaus directing her to Shibuya, the shopping district, handing her his card and telling her to have a field day. And she does, because shopping has always been a form of therapy for Caroline and lord knows she needs it now more than ever. When they return to their hotel, where _of course_ Klaus rents the largest suite, complete with two bedrooms in possession of king sized beds, a kitchen, dining area, and living room that offers a stunning view of the city, Caroline feels ready to collapse.

She's lounging on the couch, sucking on a blood bag and staring out the floor-to-ceiling window that occupies one wall of the living room when Klaus comes out from his bedroom, dressed up and looking _Caroline Forbes don't you dare say handsome_.

"Are you going out?" She asks, sitting up.

"Only for a little while," He says, plucking a blood bag from the cooler and drinking from it. "Remind me to get more in the morning," Klaus says, pointing at the now empty cooler.

"Where are you going?" Caroline asks, raising an eyebrow.

"To meet with an old friend. I think it best you stay behind, sweetheart, lest we have another Cairo experience," Klaus smirks.

"Oh," Caroline lies back down. "An informant, then?"

"Right you are," Klaus checks the watch on his wrist. "Got to run. I shouldn't be back before too long."

"Have fun freeing your slaves," Caroline mutters, not feeling brave enough to test him. He closes the door behind him, not having heard her.

With his exit, Caroline sighs. She could leave now, she supposes. Opportune time and all. She imagines him returning, not knowing where she is. Maybe he'd be scared, thinking she'd gone and gotten herself kidnapped again. Maybe he'd know and leave for Mystic Falls immediately. The idea of a, potentially, very hurt and angry Klaus following in the wake of her homecoming doesn't thrill Caroline.

She sighs again and decides it's time for alcohol. Their fridge is, thankfully, stocked and ready for her.

Caroline takes a shot of everything they have, including vodka, whiskey, rum, and gin. She picks the bottle of gin to polish off first, placing the other three on the coffee table before her to wait their turn. Caroline decides she isn't going to have any more deep, brooding thoughts and turns on the TV, suddenly hit with a language she doesn't understand. She watches as a Japanese woman presents the studio audience with a kitchen appliance that does _something_ involving chopping and pureeing. Caroline takes a drink every time she gasps in amazement at what happens when she presses a button.

Caroline picks through the clothes she bought, the television only serving as background noise the more and more intoxicated she gets. Japanese fashion proved to be entirely too bold for her tastes and she raises her eyebrows at the mini skit and tube top combo she purchased, wondering in what mindset she would ever even wear them. Klaus had smirked at her purchases, a comment on the tip of his tongue, but the pointed look she had given him banished any lewd thoughts he might have shared. She laughs at the memory, wondering when Klaus became her shopping buddy, the title entirely too _normal_ for the centuries old hybrid.

She wonders if it's all just an act for her sake, the tour guide role Klaus has been donning for the past four months simply a front he's keeping up. Caroline thinks of Rebekah, who in the end only wanted to be a normal teenaged girl. Maybe that's all the Originals want to be. Not murdering psychopaths with so much blood on their hands no amount of scrubbing could remove it, but normal people, who do things like shop and listen to terrible top 40 hits and enjoy having dinner with friends, even if that dinner is the blood of the innocent. Caroline rolls her eyes at the thought, sure they truly want to be powerful and feared and hated, even.

But she's doubting herself again. There are such things as bad first impressions.

Caroline downs the rest of the gin and moves on to the vodka, already feeling warm and lightheaded.

Klaus returns when she's halfway through the bottle of whiskey and watching a rerun of a game show with her mouth hanging open. His eyes sweep over the two empty bottles and he raises an eyebrow.

"This show is ridiculous," Caroline drawls, pointing an accusing finger at the television. "There's no way you can bend your body in a perfect H shape."

"I see you've been entertaining yourself," Klaus says, plucking the still full bottle of rum from the table. Caroline doesn't offer a protest but rolls her head toward him, looking him up and down.

"The lack of blood tells me your meeting was civil," She states, nodding to herself.

"Quite," Klaus purses his lips. "How long have you been drinking?"

"Since you left," Caroline checks the time. "Three hours?"

Klaus sits on the couch next to her, opening the bottle of rum and taking a swig of it. "And you managed to drink over half of my alcohol."

"I was bored," Caroline sighs and rubs her hands over her face, pondering the question of why the sensation of touch is so much better when one's drunk. "You're only allowed to drink if you promise not to kill anyone." She gives him an accusing look that isn't as effective as she intends it to be. Klaus smirks.

"I promise." He holds his hand up like a boy scout. Caroline rolls her eyes.

"What did you do for a thousand years?" Caroline asks suddenly, leaning back on the couch and stretching her legs out of the coffee table. "I feel like we've been everywhere and it hasn't even been half a year."

"Living life constantly on the run keeps you busy," Klaus says, looking off and taking another drink from the bottle.

"Oh, come on!" Caroline turns her head, looking at him. "Somewhere between all that you had to have had fun."

Klaus smirks at her. "Sure. Watching societies rise and fall was always entertaining. Fought in a few wars for the thrill of it," His eyes soften, looking contemplative. "But we were constantly on the move, Rebekah, Elijah, and I."

"Didn't it get lonely?" Caroline closes her eyes, sighing.

"I had my family," Klaus says by way of explanation.

"Sure, yeah, family's great and all but…" She shrugs, keeping her eyes closed. "Wasn't something missing? Friends…" Caroline trails off, unable to finish the thought.

"A lover?" Klaus offers and Caroline blushes, giving a slight nod. "Yes, I suppose it was. But there wasn't time for that then. Love-"

"Is a vampire's greatest weakness," Caroline interrupts. "Yeah, I heard." She gives another sigh and slumps over, head resting on Klaus's shoulder.

It all seems to go very still in that moment. She feels Klaus stiffen under her touch, but she doesn't move, alcohol clouding her actions and judgments. It hits Caroline how much she misses having someone she can lean on, in the most literal sense.

She hears the bottle of rum slosh as Klaus takes another drink. His hand finds hers and rests over it, hesitantly. Caroline doesn't move. Her eyes open, slowly.

_Push it all aside and she could love Klaus_…

Caroline leans up, staring at Klaus. His eyes meet hers and there's confusion there and maybe the slightest bit of anticipation. She looks over his face carefully. She was never able to deny that Klaus was handsome. His eyes, blue, are so dark, so unlike Damon's, who's pierced, while Klaus's are bottomless. His lips, so full, so _kissable _(_don't you dare use that word, Forbes_) are slightly parted, anxiously awaiting the action Caroline debates. She meets his eyes and almost allows herself to drown in them.

Caroline is leaning dangerously close to him, her own lips parted, her eyes darting between Klaus's eyes and his mouth. She leans in half an inch, their noses almost touching, Klaus's breath caressing her skin, warm and smelling of rum. She blinks, eyelids heavy and begging to close, inhales a breath and stands suddenly, turning away from Klaus and gazing out the window over Tokyo. His disappointed sigh doesn't escape her.

"Caroline-"

"I'm going to get some sleep. It's been a long day," And she hightails it out of the room, closing her door behind her and leaving Klaus staring after her.

She doesn't see the way his eyebrows narrow or the frown that graces those kissable lips.

Caroline leans against her bedroom door, scrubbing at her bleary eyes with her palms. "Stupid, stupid, stupid…" she mutters, sliding down the door and sitting on the floor. She puts her head between her knees, willing her mind to clear up, dizzy from the alcohol and, dare she say, thoughts of _affection_ for Klaus. Caroline had almost allowed herself to give in and part of her wishes she had (the drunken, horny part _of course_ because that's what you do when you're drunk, make-out with someone and regret it in the morning.)

Caroline throws her head back and stares at the ceiling, letting out a sigh. Why did she agree to this? Why did she go off with him? How could she have let herself be so blinded to think that _everything_, every fleeting thought she had ever had about Klaus, every moment that had left her heart racing and head swimming, that it _all_ wouldn't come to a head? Why, when Samira asked if she loved Klaus, did she let herself think that she could, one day? _In a year, or even in a century_…

Caroline cuts the memory off. The memory of how he had stormed away from her and she had looked after him with almost_ longing_ in her eyes.

_He is Klaus, he is Klaus, he is Klaus_…

Yeah, Klaus. Klaus, who took an immediate interest in her, like no one ever did. Klaus, who said she was beautiful and strong and full of light. Klaus, who didn't kill her when she dared to stand up to him, who thanked her for it, even. Klaus, who gave her expensive dresses and bracelets that belonged to royalty, and creepy, beautiful drawings. Klaus, who wanted to talk about _her_, wanted to know her hopes and dreams. He saw her as a challenge. He wanted to show her the world. He saved her over and over. _Your life is one I won't allow to end anytime soon_.

But…

_No. No buts. Not tonight. _

Caroline crawls into bed before she allows herself to do anything else completely idiotic. She thanks the lord that she doesn't dream about him.

When she wakes up the next morning her head is killing her and her throat burns with thirst. Caroline creeps out of her bedroom, careful to be quiet, unwilling to face Klaus if she can help it. She checks the cooler of blood bags and remembers that it was emptied the night before, Klaus telling her to remind him of it. The burning in Caroline's throat hasn't been this intense in a while, but being so incredibly hung over probably doesn't help her case. Caroline hesitates before knocking on Klaus's door.

"Yes?" He calls and Caroline takes it as permission to enter, opening the door a crack.

"Um, Klaus…" She pushes it further open. "We're out of-" Caroline freezes.

The smell of blood hits her full force. Klaus is lying in bed, a hotel maid perched on the edge of his mattress with her neck exposed. Klaus has her blood running down his chin, the maid's neck and collar stained with it as well. As Caroline enters Klaus wipes his hand over his mouth, smearing the blood on his palm.

The fire in her throat flares in intensity, her gums suddenly aching. She feels as the blood rushes to her eyes, the veins protruding from her skin and eyes and vision growing red. Caroline throws herself against the door frame but doesn't take her eyes off the girl's bleeding neck.

Klaus watches her closely. He licks the blood from his palm and sweeps the maid's hair back, further exposing her throat. "Are you hungry, sweetheart?" He asks, cocking his head to the side. The maid looks between Klaus and Caroline, his compulsion making her calm. She raises her eyebrows at him and he smiles back at her, telling her something in Japanese. She suddenly stands from her perch, making her way toward Caroline.

She's rooted at the spot, pressing herself further and further into the door frame. Caroline's hands are balled into fists, her nails digging into her palms, enough to draw blood. As the smell of more blood fills the air, she feels herself losing control. "Klaus…" She chokes out, but he does nothing, watching in interest from his bed. The maid approaches Caroline, exposing her neck to her and asking her something in Japanese. Her eyes shine as though she's more than happy to allow Caroline to feed from her.

Caroline closes her eyes and wills her fangs to disappear into her gums again. She breathes slowly, in and out, just as Stefan taught her so long ago, but it doesn't help, the smell of the maid's blood all she can focus on. And suddenly the maid is right in front of her and holding her wrist right under Caroline's nose. Her eyes fly open and she looks to Klaus in desperation.

He gives her a slight nod and a thought crosses her mind.

_Where's the harm if you don't kill her?_

And suddenly Caroline is plunging her fangs into the girl's wrist, her blood extinguishing the fire.

xx

-Reels


	8. Rome

:)

xx

It had been a thought tugging at her.

She'd noticed the way it had stopped bugging her as much when Klaus would disappear only to return a few hours later, the smell of fresh blood still on his lips. She had taken it for acceptance – that's who he was, that's who he would always be. If it did cross her mind that perhaps she wasn't as disgusted at the idea of feeding from a human as she once was, she'd push it away, bury it, smother it, and be sure to frown a little more at Klaus next time. She didn't miss the way she'd linger on the scent of a human's blood, the consequent dull pain of her fangs longing to come out and play, the temptation to have a taste, but she'd chalk the thoughts up as simply not having enough blood that morning, and started drinking an extra bag for breakfast. She'd try to ignore it, the temptations. Study the humans closely. See the smiles they'd wear, remember that she was human once too, and not that long ago. She'd bite her cheek and never think it was someone else's blood she'd rather have flooding her mouth.

If it was the smell of blood that made her lose control it was the taste that brought her back. Warm, pumping with life. _So much more intimate that way_…

Caroline's eyes fly open and she shoves the maid away from her. The girl falls on the ground with a whimper, cradling her wrist. Klaus frowns.

Caroline looks wildly around the room, eyes darting between the bleeding maid and Klaus, who sits up in bed, standing. He takes a step toward her and she flees from the room, retreating to her own bedroom and slamming the door closed. She starts panting in an attempt to expel the smell of the maid's blood from her nose. Outside her bedroom window, she notices a pigeon sitting on the windowsill and Caroline clears the space in a moment, slamming the window open and snatching the bird just as it rises to take flight. She plunges her fangs into the things chest, draining it in a moment, the taste of its blood so weak compared to the maid's. But it helps the burning in her throat and clears her head. _Her blood would be so much better, you know_…

She tears at her hair as she storms into her bathroom, turning the sink on and splashing herself with the cold water. Blood is smeared across her chin, a mixture of the human's and the bird's. Caroline scrubs it away even as the temptation to lick it off rises, to get one more taste of it…

Caroline braces herself against the counter and hangs her head, the sink still running. She clenches her jaw and breathes in and out, having escaped the smell of the girl.

"Caroline," Klaus stands in the doorway to the bathroom, blood still smeared across his mouth. He watches her carefully.

She looks up at him, rage pouring from her suddenly. He doesn't flinch at her stare, rather licking his lips as though impatient. "You tempted me," Caroline bites out, accusation clear in her voice.

"No, love, I simply tested you," he says, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Is there a difference?" She scoffs, straightening. Caroline gives herself one last withering look in the mirror and slams the sink off before turning to him, mirroring his pose.

"By saying I tempted you, you are implying that I wanted you to drink from her," Klaus says. "When I say I was testing you, I mean I was giving you the choice. It made no difference to me if you decided to give in or not." But something in his eyes dances, as though he couldn't be more pleased with her choice.

"You're full of shit," Caroline snaps, taking a step toward him. She points a finger at him and jabs him in the chest with it. "You knew I was going to come to your room after I woke up because we're out of blood. You knew I had too much to drink last night and was going to be starving. You didn't even warn me that you had her in there!" She jabs him three times, each for every point. His look of amusement at the action quickly darkens until he's glowering back at her.

"And what do I have to gain by having you drink from a human, Caroline?" Klaus's tone is dangerous but she doesn't even entertain the notion to back down.

"Because it's all part of some stupid point you're trying to make," she says. Caroline cocks her head to the side and looks him up and down. "You remember London, I'm sure? What was it you said? You're sick of seeing vampires making friends with humans because they don't deserve our mercy, wasn't it?" Caroline takes one step closer to him, head thrown back to glare directly into his eyes. "You were so hell bent on it, but why bring it up again now?" Her eyes search his face. "What is it, some kind of punishment?" Klaus stares back at her coolly, offering no reply. Realization hits her then, her eyes widening. "I get it," She starts. Klaus closes his eyes, as though hearing those words from her mouth again, said with that exact tone as it did so many years ago, pains him. "You're mad at me, about last night."

His eyes fly open. "Caroline…" He warns, narrowing his eyebrows at her.

"No," Caroline snaps. "So what, Klaus, I don't kiss you and you throw a bleeding human in my face for revenge?" She jabs him one more time in the chest. "That's low, even for you."

Klaus grabs her by her wrist, jerking her against him. "Sweetheart," he begins, voice low and malicious. "You'll do well to remember who I am and what I can do before you behave in such a way." But these words don't scare Caroline, they only enrage her further. She opens her mouth to berate him but he cuts her off. "No, I think it's my turn to talk. Don't put the blame for what happened in there on me, because we both know that in the end it was _you_ who gave in. Your self-control has always been remarkable, Caroline, and if you truly did not want to drink from that girl you wouldn't have." Klaus cocks his head to the side. "I saw it, the moment of resignation. Something clicked for you, didn't it, sweetheart? Something made it acceptable for you."

"Shut up!" She snaps, jerking away from him. It's useless, though, his grip too strong.

"That's not going to work anymore, Caroline," Klaus says gruffly. "You can't keep denying it, not to me, not to yourself. You may have to play human-loving vampire for Elena and your mother, but not for me." His voice is softer now and his grip loosens. She takes a step away from him, looking up at him with her mouth open.

"It's not…" Words are failing her. Caroline shakes her head from side to side. "I…I'm not…" It's all falling down around her now, because he's right; she only has herself to blame. It isn't Klaus she's angry with, it's herself. Sure, he may have done it all to get back at her. It may be his fault that it happened. But she let herself fall into it, let herself give in to those thoughts that she had tried to bury deep within her. The fear that she'd end up like Klaus one day, the resignation she made to herself, that she wouldn't allow it to happen, not ever. But it's starting to crack, that promise, because it's a reality that's starting to become more and more likely. Something that every vampire must battle with as they age. The contempt for humans grows as decades pass; it's easier that way, it _has_ to be easier that way. She thinks of her mother and Bonnie and Matt. When they pass, what ties does Caroline have to humanity, other than fading and fleeting memories as a mortal? She's thought of the pain she's going to have to live with the rest of her life, surviving on after they all pass, their short years the number she was supposed to live. Why would she expose herself to that again? What's to be gained in befriending humans when she knows they're going to die while she will live over a hundred life times? Why feel that pain again?

It's simpler to put the blinders on and take them for what they inherently are. Natural prey. Something to be hunted.

But she can't think like that, not yet. She's still so young. She still has her ties to humanity. She doesn't play human-loving vampire, though; that's where Klaus is wrong. It isn't an act. It's simply a role she may be growing out of, little by little.

Tears prick in her eyes and she looks away from Klaus. He wraps his arms around her and she lets him, crying into his shoulder while he pets her hair and whispers words of comfort to her. Caroline wants to be disgusted by him, wants to hate him now more than ever, but she had at least learned that others can't be blamed for her mistakes. And while Klaus was fuel to a fire, in the end, she was the one who gave in. While he might have tempted her, Klaus never robbed her of her free will. And for that reason she cries, because Caroline has not only failed herself, but her mother, and Bonnie, and Elena.

They move on from Tokyo, the time there leaving a bad taste in both of their mouths. Klaus takes her to Rome as if he knows their time together is ending, determined to show her the third and final city he promised.

Caroline doesn't try to put up a strong front as she did after Cairo. She becomes more and more distant, her heart no longer in it. She still follows Klaus around as he points out landmarks, shares with her history and beauty she can't appreciate this time around. His impatience grows as he watches her eyes glaze over, as she shies away from his touches like before. They're in Rome for a week before Caroline finally decides it's time for her to leave Klaus.

They're having dinner at a high class restaurant, the patrons dressed sophisticatedly while waiters and waitresses dote on them, eager to please. Klaus and Caroline sit outside on a dimly lit patio, the night cool and clear. A quartet is positioned at the back, expertly playing softly while a few couples sway to the music, holding each other close, whispering sweetly into the others ear.

Thoughts swim in her head, fleeting, ever changing. Samira's voice rings out, however. Urging Caroline to get away while she still can, to find her freedom. Caroline realizes her warnings might not have been enough, originally. She would have kept putting it off, fear and insecurity keeping her from ever leaving Klaus's side. But Tokyo had set it off. Leaving Klaus had become crucial if it meant keeping her humanity for just a little while longer.

Klaus has noticed Caroline's far off look and says nothing, sipping tentatively from his wine. He's been in a bad mood all day, not bothering to take Caroline out, keeping himself holed up in his room. It had been her idea to go out for dinner. Maybe she wanted one last evening out with Klaus. Maybe guilt had taken root inside of her.

Because in the end, maybe Klaus only wanted her to be safe, and safety was something he could give her.

"Let's dance," Caroline says suddenly, eyes frantically flying to Klaus. He doesn't miss the desperate look in them, the almost panic in her voice.

"If you insist." He stands, offering her his hand. She takes it quickly, rising and almost dragging him to the dance floor. He spins her back to him, reminding her who is in charge, and she clasps her body against his, clutching his right hand and resting her hand on his shoulder. His hand moves to the small of her back and he draws her closer.

She doesn't fight it. They sway gently to the music, Klaus leading her every step. Caroline allows the thoughts to flood her. She knew what she would be getting into with Klaus, surely she knew. Klaus had never been shy about who he was. Demanding, possessive, violent, defensive. Caroline would be a fool to think he'd ever change, least of all for her, but of course she didn't expect him to. The realization that she could love Klaus strikes her with another fear; maybe it's her, then, who's changing? Becoming dependent on him, as he so wants others to be. Numbing her to the horrors of feeding from humans. She has to get away, to breath without him constantly over her shoulder. Try on independence, become who she is meant to be for eternity.

"Caroline?" Klaus questions.

"Sorry," Caroline looks up at him now, flashing a grin. And the concerned look he's giving her hits her hard and she's left feeling guilty. He cares for her, genuinely cares, and shes' going to leave him, all because she's going through some personal crises. He scares her, of course, and she berates herself because he doesn't deserve her pity, of course he doesn't, because he'd never understand why she has to leave, never let her go freely. Maybe, in some twisted way, he'd always just been doing what he thought was best, doing what he thought was necessary to keep him and his family safe. And the thought _saddens_ her because _no wonder_ he wouldn't get it. Everything he'd done, every place he'd taken her, it was all because he honestly wished to show her the world as he had said he wanted to so long ago. He was only trying to get her away from the painful memories of Mystic Falls, offering her protection from any threats like the final one she faced in her hometown. And they clashed because he was so old and she still so young, their mindsets so distant from one another that of course they'd never see eye-to-eye on everything, at least not for a long, long time. But that's why she has to leave, isn't it? Because it would never work between the two of them. There was too much to be forgiven, too much to have to work through. Even if Klaus thought she was something special and she found herself falling for him, it was all too much.

The thought brings tears to her eyes and she _does_ know why but she can't admit to it.

"Are you alright?" Klaus asks gently.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Promise," Caroline smiles but she's sure it doesn't reach her eyes. "I'm just a little tired is all."

"We can go back if you'd like," he says, hesitating.

"No, it's still early!" Caroline lets go of him, her hand slowly sliding off his shoulder. "I think I'll go in and order a cup of coffee though, maybe go touch up my make-up; would you like anything?" Her heart is racing and she's sure Klaus hears it.

Klaus looks back at her for a long moment. His brow knits, a frown tugging at his mouth. "No, I'm alright," he finally says. They leave the dance floor, Klaus returning to their table. He watches her walk into the restaurant, his grip tight on his wine glass.

Caroline looks over her shoulder at him before opening the door. She gives him a smile and he doesn't react, taking a sip from his glass and then looking away. She bows her head as she enters the restaurant, heading for the exit.

She takes off in a full sprint back to the hotel. When she arrives she immediately starts gathering all of her things, shoving them unceremoniously into her bag. She changes out of her evening dress into a pair of jeans, mind racing as she thinks of a way to leave the city. She figures she only has a few more minutes before Klaus realizes she isn't coming back and is just zipping up her suitcase when she senses his presence.

"Going somewhere, sweetheart?" Klaus's tone drips with rage, threats looming in his voice.

Caroline stands very still, spine snapping up straight, feet standing slightly apart. A solid stance. A defensive stance. She crosses her arms over her chest, shutting him out, creating a wall. She turns slowly, taking a deep breath, and faces Klaus. The light from the hall casts him in shadow, his form but a silhouette. She doesn't miss his hunched shoulders, the way his head is cocked to the side, or his hands, balled into fists in front of him.

"Klaus," she breathes, dread finally flooding her. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_, she recites to herself. Caroline should have just left everything behind and ran. Ran far and fast without a backwards glance.

"Now, the old 'I have to powder my nose' excuse is a classic, really, Caroline. I must compliment you on that," Klaus takes a step toward her. "In one thousand years, I never thought it'd be used on me, though, much less by you."

"Klaus," Caroline takes a step back for every step he takes. "Please, don't-"

"Don't what, Caroline?" He snaps. "Don't be angry? Love, I'm passed angry. I'm hurt." He stops, considering this. "Which, one would argue, is much worse."

"Klaus, I'm sorry!" Caroline pleads. He's backing her into a corner and she looks around wildly for an escape. "But, I-"

"But what, Caroline?!" Klaus yells now, lunging at her. He has her pinned to the wall, holding her by her upper arms. "Were you just going to leave without a word? After all that I've done for you? Just sneak out while I waited for you to return like a _fool_?" He spits it out. Caroline winces away from him.

"I can't stay with you anymore!" Caroline says, mind racing. Maybe if she explains it all, maybe he'll understand. Maybe he'll actually let her leave, a hope that is slipping away. "I just…I have to go, Klaus!"

"Please, darling, _enlighten_ me," He pushes her further against the wall, pressing himself against her. "You've been distant since Cairo. What poisonous thoughts did Samira fill your pretty, little head with?" Klaus cocks his head to the side. "Please don't tell me this has to do with that little incident in Tokyo."

Caroline is suddenly seized with anger because it's _just like him_ to push something like that, something so important like the event in Tokyo, aside. To shake his head as though Caroline is ridiculous for dwelling on it. And it's not like she owes him an explanation, anyway. How dare he think he can push her around like this, as if a little screaming and manhandling will force her into submission? She isn't one of his little hybrids and he isn't her alpha. This whole escapade was her idea, after all. She had decided to leave Mystic Falls and he had asked _permission_ to accompany her.

"So what?!" Caroline suddenly snaps back with equal ferocity. "Are you going to _make_ me stay with you, Klaus? I hate to break it to you, but your whole alpha-male sire-bond doesn't work on me and, last I checked, stabbing me with a dagger and locking me up in a box for centuries isn't an option for you," Caroline glares at him. "So what are you going to do, Klaus?" She challenges.

And suddenly a grin has plastered itself on Klaus's face and Caroline's brain kicks back into action because she knows what he's going to do.

"I find compulsion to be very helpful, love."

Caroline squeezes her eyes closed, turning her face from him in an instant. Klaus frees her arms but presses himself further against her, pinning her in place. He takes her face in both of his now free hands, turning her head to face him. For a moment Caroline's afraid he'll snap her neck with how much they struggle against one another. "Caroline," He says harshly, commandingly. She jerks her head side to side, clawing at his chest, trying to push him off of her. It's useless, her blows as weak as a child's against him. "Caroline," Klaus says again and she bites down on her lip, willing the tears that are building to stop.

She saw this coming, of course. It was a fear that had nestled in her the first time she even entertained the idea of leaving. Klaus wouldn't let her go. _Of course _he wouldn't. He had spent the past ten years trying to catch her eye, to give in to him. And _of course_ the moment she did, he would be damned if he'd let her go before he had taken from her all he wanted. She was a fool to even hold on to the slim chance that he was better than that, that her free will was something he valued. _You don't connect with people because you don't even try to understand them_. Those words had been true when she had first said them, years ago. And Caroline, like an idiot, thought that _maybe_ he had outgrown them, that _maybe_ he had changed. _Thank you for your honesty_. Surely Klaus had taken her words to heart. Surely she had helped him, in that way.

Surely she was an idiot.

"Please," She whines as the first tear falls. "Klaus, please."

And suddenly his mouth is on hers. Caroline freezes, her hands halting their assault on his chest. Klaus's hands move to her hair, running his fingers through it. One traces leisurely down her neck, cupping her jaw for a moment before tracing down her spine, nestling on the small of her back. He draws her closer against him and Caroline gives in. Her hands travel to his shoulders, hesitantly gliding over his chest. She links her hands at the base of his neck, fingering the locks of hair there. Their mouths search the others hungrily, their tongues crashing together, their kiss deepening and deepening as though they're trying to meld into one.

Klaus bites down on her lower lip and Caroline gasps, eyes flying open. And just as suddenly his mouth is gone and Caroline's left kissing the air for a moment before their eyes meet and she's locked in the compulsion.

The tears start flowing again and Caroline's brow knits, nostrils flaring as she takes a deep breath. Her mouth twists as she tries to form words, words to plead with him, to beg if she has to. She manages to let out a sob, his name lost somewhere in her voice, filled with despair.

And Klaus closes his eyes and steps away from her. He turns, takes another step, and stops.

Caroline lets out a shaky breath, eyes widening in shock. "You're not…" She trails off, brow knitting.

"If you're not gone by the time I return, I may change my mind," Klaus whispers and then he's gone, any sign of his presence fading with the bruises on her arms, the tingling on her lips.

xx

-Reels


	9. Salem

Some explanation:

This story was originally a one-shot. When I decided to write more based on a few reviews asking for more, I had no idea what direction the story would take or what would happen next or even how it will end (that one is still up in the air.) I've never written Vampire Diaries fanfiction before, except for one Klaroline drabble I did. So my grasp on the characters is pretty loose and I am still pretty unsure how to write them in many scenarios. For those who have enjoyed it, I'm glad, even though I'm sure I'm not doing the characters justice. For those who have been left displeased, I'm sorry if you've been disappointed, but honestly, I'm not trying to live up to anyone's expectations here. The one-shot was a little idea I had that I honestly wrote for me, and while following chapters were for the readers, I have returned to writing for me again because I am enjoying this story and how it has turned out.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is: don't expect much from me. I'm writing up ideas I've come up with and had help with and a lot of it is just a broken mess of thoughts that I'm trying to jam in here. If you enjoy it, cool, if not, sorry.

One last thing: sorry about the wait. I'm back at my university and usually write best when I'm alone and it's late and that hasn't really been happening too often. I will try to have the story finished by October 11th but don't hold me to that. Thanks for sticking around guys, your support means everything.

Enjoy!

xx

She had heard a theory once. An explanation for life, the universe, existence. An idea that a person lived out multiple lives through the choices they made. For every decision someone made, another world was created for the choice they _could_ have made, setting off a whole other chain of events for what could have been, had they picked differently. Caroline didn't think anything of this theory, of course; it was too sci-fi for her taste, plus the whole idea was a little too mind-blowing to put too much thought into it. But it was an idea that would reemerge every now and then and left her dwelling on the _what ifs_.

What if she and Matt hadn't ridden home with Tyler that night, the one that landed her in the hospital and resulted in Damon's blood getting in her system, followed by Katherine smothering her? What if Caroline had just walked home, returned safe and sound, and vampires and werewolves never revealed themselves to her? What if she aged out of her filler year, graduated, and went to college? Became a journalist, maybe moved back to Mystic Falls? Who knows, she could have married Matt, and she could be 28 with a kid on the way. That life, though undeniably boring to its alternative, is something Caroline longs for, in a way. It's all so simple. A simple, human life. She'd have a couple of kids, grow up, retire. Die old, maybe in her late 80s, peacefully. A short life, in retrospect. But isn't that why humans are so special, so valuable? Because they have an expiration date?

What if she stayed until Klaus returned? Remained with him, allowed him to keep up the world tour. Maybe she'd just keep losing herself. Feed from humans because that's the natural way of things. Let him drive her further and further away from her humanity. Allow herself to be driven.

But of course she can't stay, so she leaves. She looks for an excuse as to why the tears come but can't come up with a good enough one. And so Caroline cries on her flight to New York, mind dwelling on Klaus revealing the view of Paris from the Eiffel Tower to her, eyes shining and a smile playing on his lips, or pointing out a sari in Mumbai that is just her color, or laughing as she prods at haggis with her fork in Glasgow.

As tempting as it is, Caroline decides against returning to Mystic Falls to see her mother, positive the town will have rallied to greet her with torches and pitchforks. She decides to call Bonnie, because Caroline needs a voice of reason more than anything right now. She answers after the first ring.

"Caroline?" Bonnie says frantically, worry clear in her voice.

"Hey, Bon," Caroline breathes, bracing herself. She's standing in the lobby of JFK, suitcase in hand and feeling wholly lost.

"Where are you?" Bonnie asks, the panic easing out of her voice.

"New York," Caroline glances around. "JFK, actually. Not really sure what to do with myself."

"Are you not with Klaus anymore?" Caroline doesn't miss the way Bonnie's voice tightens at his name.

"Nope, I left." She's being vague, of course, but it's an explanation she'd rather have in person.

"He let you leave?!" Bonnie sounds almost as surprised as Caroline had felt.

"Yeah, he did." Caroline pauses, looking down at her feet. "It's a long story, Bonnie, but I want to see you. Are you still in Salem?" Bonnie had gone there last year, desperate to dig up some history on her family and hoping to discover some of their grimoires.

"Yeah. You gonna come up?"

"If I'm welcome." Caroline smiles to herself.

"Of course, Caroline. I'll text you my address. You got a car?"

"I'll rent one, I guess." Caroline stops. "It's good to hear your voice, Bonnie."

"Yours too." Bonnie lets out a breath. "Are you sure you're ok, Caroline?"

Caroline looks up, staring over the many faces in the airport terminal. The smell of their blood, mixed together with their different scents, hangs in the air. As she concentrates on it, her mouth waters. "Yeah, Bonnie. I'm fine." She closes her eyes and swallows. "I'll see you soon, ok?"

"Alright." Bonnie still sounds unsure. "Bye, Caroline."

"Bye, Bonnie."

Caroline rents a car and drives into the night, a cooler of blood bags picked up from a hospital and a one-hit wonder CD from the 90s keeping her company. She focuses on the road and keeps her thoughts from what Klaus is doing, where he is, if maybe he's following her right now. The drive from New York to Salem isn't too long and eventually she's pulling into an apartment complex, Bonnie standing on the third floor balcony to greet her.

They haven't seen one another in almost five years and the time is evident on Bonnie's matured face. She's aged, become a woman Caroline never will, filled out and taller. When they embrace, Caroline longs for the hold of Bonnie's seventeen-year-old self, feeling only the smallest pang of envy for her mortality. Bonnie smiles at Caroline as they pull away, affectionately brushing her bangs from her eyes, the action almost motherly. "You have some explaining to do," Bonnie says, raising an eyebrow at Caroline, who lets out a shaky laugh.

"Well I hope you have a _lot_ of free time."

Bonnie's apartment is littered with files and spell books, unlit candles occupying any empty space between. "Fire hazard, much?" Caroline jokes and Bonnie smiles, rolling her eyes. A large map of the United States is taped to a wall, sporadically marked with red dots, predominantly on the east coast with a few stragglers here and there going west. When Caroline raises an eyebrow at this, Bonnie holds up one of the files by way of explanation. "I've been tracking down other witches and warlocks," she explains, flipping through the file. It's filled with legal documents pertaining to one Eva Larson, her picture pinned at the corner.

"Kinda creepy, Bon," Caroline says, flicking through another file.

"I figure the only way for me to grow is through contact with others at this point. I've memorized practically all of the grimoires in my possession." Bonnie says this as though it isn't an impressive feat, while Caroline's eyes grow large.

"You need a boyfriend, Bonnie," Caroline teases, setting the file back down neatly on its pile.

"Oh, I have one of those," Bonnie smiles, eyes going soft. "He's in Georgia now, though. I would have loved you two to meet."

"Is he a warlock?" Caroline asks.

"Yep. He tracked me down, actually."

"Well I hope he's not only in it for that valued Bennett bloodline," Caroline jokes and Bonnie shakes her head, smiling to herself.

Bonnie makes tea for the two of them, clearing off her couch of any spell books and inviting Caroline to sit. Caroline's grateful for the mug of tea, glad to have something to busy her hands with as she recounts the past four months in, what Bonnie will be sure to demand, excruciating detail. When Bonnie hands Caroline her mug, she takes a large gulp from it, her nerves only slightly calmed. Bonnie sits on the other end of the couch, tucking her feet under her and turning towards Caroline. They watch each other as they sip until, finally, Bonnie lets out a sigh.

"So how much prying am I going to have to do to get it out of you?" She says, quirking an eyebrow. Caroline smiles, eyes falling to her mug.

"I only have one request," Caroline says, looking back up at Bonnie. "Just let me get the whole thing out in one fell swoop, no interruptions. Please?"

Bonnie lets out another sigh, bracing herself. "Alright, Caroline."

"Ok…" Caroline trails off, looking back down into her tea. She sighs, closes her eyes, and begins. She holds nothing back from Bonnie, detailing key moments, beginning with Mystic Falls. Caroline finds herself on the verge of tears as she recounts the night in the gymnasium, Klaus slaughtering each and every one of her captors one by one, as she lay helplessly on the floor, drugged and injured. She struggles to explain the night in London, hating admitting to Bonnie of all people that she came so close to feeding from the girl that night. She trips over her explanation as to why she remained with Klaus following that night, embarrassment washing over her as she gives Bonnie her more narcissistic reasoning's. She glad to arrive at the first night in Dublin, where Klaus proved that he'd always be there to protect her, but she doesn't miss the way Bonnie's lips purse at this, obviously not buying the whole hero act. She flicks between the time of peace in the trip, giving hurried explanations of each country and city they visited, sharing with Bonnie moments of almost _normalcy_ she had with Klaus, moments that made her believe that _maybe _he wasn't the psycho killer she originally took him for. The events of Cairo, as Caroline recounts them, seem so long ago, and Caroline describes it as the turning point in the trip, when she finally decided that yes, she'd have to leave Klaus. When she reaches Tokyo she stops, tempted to dismiss the final week she was with Klaus.

Bonnie senses her hesitation. "What happened next, Caroline?" She offers.

Caroline fiddles with her empty mug. "Can I say first that I'm sorry?" But will Bonnie be able to forgive her? That's always been her biggest problems with vampires, the collateral damage that is done by their very existence. She thinks of the night of the carnival, feeding from that man, _killing_ that man. How Bonnie looked at her as though she had no idea who Caroline was, the disgust and fear that clouded her face. Caroline had been so sure that Bonnie would never forgive her then, a newly born vampire who had no one to teach her how to survive her new life. Bonnie had forgiven her a long time ago, because she understood that Caroline hadn't been able to help herself, that she was terrified and lost. But could she forgive Caroline now, ten years later without a single incident?

Bonnie presses her mouth into a hard line. "What happened, Caroline?" She repeats, but her tone is steely as though she's already guessed what happened.

"We went to Tokyo next," Caroline begins, unable to meet Bonnie's eyes. "I got drunk alone and when Klaus did return, well…" She feels her face going hot. "I almost kissed him but that isn't what I'm apologizing for," she says quickly, missing the way Bonnie's eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "The next morning when I woke up…I was so hungry, Bonnie, and hung over, and we were out of blood bags. When I went to Klaus's room to tell him…" Caroline stops again, gritting her teeth and closing her eyes.

Bonnie's hand is on Caroline's shoulder in a moment. "Go on," she says gently. Caroline opens her eyes and meets Bonnie's.

"He had a human in there with him, feeding from her. A hotel maid. She couldn't have been older than twenty." _Humanize her, Caroline, show that she wasn't just a meal_. "Klaus…he told her to let me feed from her, to offer herself. I was in control until she was right in front of me, and her neck was bleeding, and I was so hungry…" Bonnie's hand slides off Caroline's shoulder and she looks away, turning from Caroline.

Caroline thinks of the first morning in London with Klaus, after he had returned with blood bags for Caroline and she had stupidly asked why he wasn't eating with her. _"I ate while I was out," _he had said and Caroline had been so revolted. _"I didn't kill her, if that changes anything…"_

It hadn't at the time, but now Caroline wants so desperately for Bonnie to understand why that _does _change something. But she knows she'd just be trying to make excuses for herself. She grabs Bonnie's hand.

"I stopped as soon as I realized what I was doing, Bonnie, honestly," Caroline pleads, ducking her head to try and get Bonnie to look at her. "And I hate myself for it, you know I do. You know I would never do that under normal circumstances." Bonnie shoots her a glare but remains silent. Caroline lets go of her hand, looking away from Bonnie. "I was furious with Klaus," she continues. "He said he was just testing me, but he wanted me to drink from her, I know he did." Bonnie snorts at this and Caroline flinches as though she's been struck. "It was after that that I knew I had to leave, definitely and one hundred percent."

"How did you manage to get away?" Bonnie asks now, still not looking at Caroline.

"We were in Rome after Tokyo. I tried to sneak away but he found me packing to leave." Caroline stops again, biting her lip. "He was going to compel me to stay, Bonnie," she shakes her head. "And I was so sure he was going to, but…something changed and he didn't."

Bonnie raises her eyebrows and finally looks at Caroline. "Something changed?"

Caroline grinds her teeth together. "Yeah," she decides she can't tell Bonnie about the kiss. She still isn't forgiven for feeding from the girl in Japan. "He let me go. Told me to leave before he changed his mind." Bonnie nods, as though that sounds more like the Klaus she remembers. Caroline lets out a sigh. "And now I'm here."

They sit in silence for a long moment, Bonnie taking the time to digest. Caroline checks the clock and realizes she's been talking for two hours, the night reaching its later hours. Bonnie remains stationary, looking ahead and clutching her mug. Caroline fidgets. "Please say something, Bonnie."

"Do you love him?" Bonnie questions, still looking forward.

Caroline stares at her, chewing the inside of her cheek. This question seemed to be haunting her, and she wasn't sure she was ready to face it yet. The kiss she shared with Klaus is still fresh in her mind, her tongue sliding over her bottom lip as she remembers it. It was a moment of weakness, pent up frustration finally bursting out of her, at the completely wrong time. But she had been so willing, in that moment. So willing to give herself up to Klaus. She had told herself she could love Klaus before, and now, knowing that he would let her be free, that possibility is becoming more and more real. Caroline doesn't miss the way her heart seems to clench as thoughts of him flood her.

"I don't know," Caroline finally says, weakly. She looks at her hands. "I don't know, Bonnie."

Bonnie tenses, eyes flying to Caroline now. "What do you want me to tell you, Caroline? Why come here and see me, and tell me all this? What do you want me to say?" Her voice is harsh.

"I don't know, Bonnie!" Caroline cries, looking up to meet her gaze. She takes Bonnie's hands in hers again. "I don't want you to say anything, I just…I needed a voice of reason."

Bonnie looks away again, glaring, but holds on to Caroline's hands. "He's a monster, Caroline."

"I know," she replies quietly.

"All the people he's hurt, killed…people you care about."

"I know, Bonnie." Caroline closes her eyes.

Bonnie says nothing for a long moment before turning back to Caroline. "But he did save your life, what, three times now?" Bonnie chews the inside of her cheek. "So I guess I owe him that," she spits out finally. Caroline looks at her in surprise. Bonnie sighs, shaking her head. "I'm not the one who can give you advice on this, Care," Bonnie admits. "I'm not going to live forever and I can't offer you an objective point of view," she pauses. "I'm going to hate Klaus until the day I die, Caroline." Bonnie looks Caroline squarely in the eye. "But I wouldn't hate you, no matter what happens. I never could."

Caroline's brow knits as tears start to spill from her eyes. She throws her arms around Bonnie, who returns the embrace. "I'm so sorry, Bonnie," she says.

"It's ok, Caroline," Bonnie replies softly, stroking Caroline's hair. They remain in each other's embrace until Caroline stops crying, pulling away to wipe any stray tears from her eyes. "What are you going to do now?" Bonnie questions.

"I don't know," Caroline says, sighing. "I think maybe I need to go see Stefan."

"Not Elena?" Bonnie asks, confused and a little surprised.

Caroline shakes her head. "Not Elena. Not yet, anyway. She would never forgive me."

"That's not true, Caroline," Bonnie chides, pursing her lips at her.

"You're probably right," Caroline rubs her hands over her face, exhaustion finally seizing her. "But Stefan first. If anyone can help me, it's going to be Stefan."

Bonnie smiles. "You're right about that."

"Can I crash here for the night?" Caroline asks, already kicking off her shoes.

"Couch is all yours," Bonnie says, standing. She stretches, stiff from sitting for so long, and yawns. "Goodnight, Caroline."

"Goodnight, Bonnie. I'll see you in the morning." It feels good, saying those words to Bonnie again after so long. Caroline wants to kick herself for falling out of contact with her for so long, promising to make the most of the time she and Bonnie have left together.

Bonnie goes to bed, leaving Caroline in the living room alone. She stretches out on the couch and sips on a blood bag, staring at the ceiling. Out of habit, she checks her phone for any messages or missed calls, greeted with none. She scrolls through her contact list, intending on messaging Stefan to find out where he is, but finds Klaus's name first. He had given her his number while they had been in New York, instructing her to call him if ever they were separated and she found herself lost. A silly precaution, of course, as the two spent almost all their time together, but a thoughtful one.

Caroline stares at his name, thumb hovering over the 'call' button. She swallows, eyes going out of focus as she looks unblinkingly at his name. Klaus.

She throws her phone across the room, landing with a clatter on the carpet. Caroline throws her blanket over her head, trying, and failing, to fall asleep.

xx

-Reels


	10. San Francisco

I'm so sorry this took forever. It was a pain in the ass to write for whatever reason and I really miss having Klaus because his actions are usually what propel me forward and bleh. So rest assured he'll be back soon if not for my writing's sake. Heh.

Also, if any of you are interested, I have been nominated in two categories for the Klaroline Awards on tumblr! I have been nominated for Best Underrated Fic for The Devil and White and also Best Klaus Author! You can vote at .com, just click the 'Vote Here' button at the top of the page, so if you think I deserve it, please do! Voting ends the 25th and you can vote every day until then!

Anyway, I'm sure you're impatient for me to get on with it so, here you are! Chapter 10!

xx

Caroline taps her foot impatiently, suitcase in one hand and her phone in the other, checking the time. Stefan had promised to pick her up from the airport thirty minutes ago and has yet to show up. Caroline didn't mind waiting, really; being immortal gave her a lot of patience she used to lack, but she was anxious to see Stefan. Anxious and a little fearful. She wasn't ready to be grilled by Stefan, even though she was sure he wouldn't be any worse than Bonnie.

She had stayed with Bonnie for two nights, the pair catching up in the time and departing with a promise to keep in touch. Bonnie would be leaving for Florida soon to meet up with her boyfriend, the two planning to depart for Europe in the coming weeks to seek out more of her bloodline, if there were any. As they bid goodbye to one another, Bonnie had grasped Caroline's hand and gave her a soft look.

"Just…" she began, knitting her brow. "Just do what makes you happy, Caroline."

Caroline offered a small, sad smile and embraced her friend before turning to board her flight set for San Francisco.

That was where she was now, alone in the airport terminal. The place was busy, the humans passing by her tempting her, unaware. Caroline hasn't eaten in a few hours and has grown hungry again. She hopes Stefan shows up soon.

It's a God send when his face emerges from the crowd, looking young as ever. A smile touches Stefan's face when their eyes meet and he hastily approaches her, taking her into a hug. Caroline lets out a little laugh, unable to help herself.

"It's so good to see you, Stefan," she says, returning his embrace.

"Glad to see you're still in one piece," he jokes, letting her go to take a look at her.

Caroline rolls her eyes at this, but a smile spreads across her face. "Yes, I'm perfectly fine, thank you. Can we get out of here? I'm starving."

Stefan leads the way to his little red Porsche, carrying Caroline's bag for her like the gentleman he is. The traffic is hectic and terrible, the reason for Stefan's tardiness as he explains. It takes them about forty minutes to get to the hotel Stefan is accommodating, an expensive, historical building with a great view of the city. He has rented a suite with two bedrooms for Caroline's stay and takes her few possessions to her room, presenting it to her with a great flourish. She gasps in awe, humoring him.

"Better than Bonnie's living room, that's for sure." Caroline sighs as she falls onto the queen sized bed, stretching out her arms and legs. "I miss my bed," she whines. "I'm so tired of hotels."

"How's Bonnie?" Stefan asks politely, sitting at the foot of the bed.

"Fine. Busy," Caroline frowns. "Old." She sighs. "When's the last time you saw her?" She asks, rolling over to look at Stefan.

Stefan looks off for a minute. "Probably two, three years?"

Caroline nods. "What about Damon?" She hesitates, chewing the inside of her cheek. "Elena?"

Stefan presses his mouth into a hard line, frowning. "I haven't seen Damon in almost a year. Elena went off to join him a few months ago."

"Where are they?" Caroline inquires after a moment and Stefan shrugs in response. She decides to change the subject, his annoyance evident. "I can't believe we've all grown so distant," she muses, sitting up again and inching to the edge of the bed, next to Stefan.

Stefan shrugs again. "It happens. It's easy for our kind to split apart then reunite again, years later, nothing changed."

"Well I don't like it." Caroline smiles and takes one of Stefan's hands. "I mean, I don't care about Damon, but you, mister, have some things to answer for," she teases and he smiles, to her relief.

"Elena wanted to travel," he says by way of explanation.

"Yeah, well, is a visit at Christmas too much to ask?" Caroline raises an eyebrow and Stefan chuckles.

He returns the hold on her hand and looks at her very seriously then. "Well, I'm sorry, Caroline. Genuinely." Stefan smiles and his eyes go all soft like they do and Caroline can't stay angry at him for a moment.

"Well, good," she replies, returning the smile.

"But I think we're missing the important topic at hand, Caroline." He's serious again, his tone authoritative.

"Oh, yeah, you're right. Where's that blood bag you promised?" Caroline's avoiding the subject, of course, positive about what, or rather _who_, Stefan wants to talk about. He raises his eyebrow and she relents, sighing. "Ok, Stefan, I promise I will explain everything, but can we not talk about him right now? We're having a heartfelt reunion after, what, four, five years? Can't we just have a little fun first?" Caroline's eyes are pleading and Stefan senses something else there, some kind of pain, and he begrudgingly nods. Caroline flashes a brilliant smile and throws her arms around him. "Thank you, Stefan."

"Just know you're in for it later," Stefan jokingly warns. "Now let's get you fed."

The two spend the rest of the day lounging around the hotel, catching up over bags of blood. Stefan had been drinking human blood in moderation for the past few years, Caroline there to keep him in check at the beginning. He was practically under control by now, his ripper side not rearing its ugly head since Klaus had set him off so long ago now, it seemed.

Stefan seems happy on the whole, if not a little lonely. He still loves Elena; always will, as far as Caroline can tell. Elena is still as indecisive as ever, fleeing to the arms of one brother should the other ever do wrong. Stefan seemed to accept the fact that a part of her would always love Damon as well. The doppelganger's lovingness was her greatest strength, yet proved to be her downfall more often than not. Caroline struggles to find words to comfort Stefan, unable to fault Elena for who she ultimately is.

They had moved on from blood to alcohol, Stefan throwing back his third glass of whiskey with a sigh. "I'm being a downer, aren't I?" He asks, smiling.

Caroline shakes her head, but laughs loudly when Stefan raises his eyebrow at this, warm and giggly from the alcohol. She nods her head, still smiling. "You are, but it's okay."

"No, no," Stefan shakes his head, pouring himself another glass. "You wanted to have fun, and here we are, you watching me drown my sorrows."

"It's a nice change of pace, honestly," Caroline says, laughing. Stefan starts at this, but she shakes her head firmly. "Nope, nope, not yet. You'll get all the gory details, don't worry. But you were saying something about fun." Caroline smirks, quirking her eyebrow. "I need to blow off some steam, personally, and I think you do too."

"You know me so well, Caroline." Stefan shakes his glass at her. "What do you want to do?"

"No, no, that's all for you to decide. You are my tour guide in this strange and foreign land." She says the words and immediately regrets them, unable to ignore the rock that suddenly settles in her stomach. "Or…whatever. What's there to do in San Francisco? Not a lot, I imagine," she jokes, shoving away any thoughts of_ him_.

Stefan smiles at this. "Why don't you go get changed and I can show you around. Grab some dinner, go to a bar. How does that sound?"

Caroline smiles back at him. "Couldn't think of any better way to spend the evening." She stands, stretching, and begins walking back to her temporary room. Before closing the door to change, she hesitates and turns back to Stefan, who looks up at her expectantly. "Thank you again, Stefan." When he looks confused she adds, "For not prying."

"Of course, Caroline."

She decides to go all out, fixing her hair and makeup before donning a slim fitting red dress, a gift from…

She changes into a blue blouse and a short black skirt, both purchased by herself, making a note to sort through her clothes. She frowns at the red dress for a moment before leaving her room. "Try this on," he had said, handing the dress to her waiting hand as she stood in the dressing room of some gaudy boutique in Prague. "It'll look wonderful, I'm sure." And he had been right. Of course.

Maybe she'd just burn it.

As Caroline closes the door to her room, Stefan stands up from the couch he had been occupying, turning off the sitcom he had been watching with mild amusement. He's dressed in a red button up and dark blue jeans that still look new and stiff. Good thing she changed, she thinks. She wouldn't have wanted to match Stefan.

_Right, Forbes, keep telling yourself that_.

"How do you feel about Italian?" He asks, leading the way to the door. Stefan holds the door open for her as she walks out, turning to lock it. "There's a really good place that's just at the end of the block."

"Whatever is fine," Caroline says kindly. She wonders how it will compare, her tastes a bit more worldly than they used to be. Pizza had, unfortunately, already been ruined.

She wishes she could stop thinking about _everything._ Him, the places he took her, the things he bought her. It was almost as though she…

_Don't you even think about it._

The line for the restaurant is out the door, couples standing together looking irritated and impatient. Stefan suggests they go somewhere else, but Caroline doesn't mind the wait. Eventually they're seated at a table for two outside on a stylish patio, with candles burning and stringed lights hanging across the ceiling. The setting in some ways reminds Caroline of the restaurant she and Klaus had gone to the night she had tried to make her escape. She's thankful for the bottle of wine Stefan orders.

Caroline's frowning into her third glass of wine, their meals finished, when Stefan finally says something.

"What's wrong?" Caroline looks up, realizing she had been blanking out, and shrugs while smiling sheepishly.

"Just thinking." She purses her lips and sighs. "Remembering."

"Anything to do with…?" Stefan hesitates.

"Yeah. Can't seem to get him out of my head, unfortunately." Caroline sets her glass down and looks at Stefan seriously. "Is it terrible that I might not actually, uh…hate Klaus?"

Stefan looks off for a moment, thoughtful. "Well, look at it this way. I was best friends with the guy for a short period of time, loved his sister even."

"Yeah, but that's when you were…different." Caroline looks away. "Do you hate him now?"

Stefan thinks this question over for a while again and then sighs. "He's done a lot of terrible things, Caroline. "

"I know," she says, biting down on her lip. "But…haven't we all? We've all used people. Hurt people. Killed." She hesitates. "What makes us so different?"

They both mull over this question for a while. Caroline can, of course, pick out major details that set Klaus apart from them. He was ruthless in getting what he wanted, unremorseful about the people who had to die along the way. Collateral damage, he would have called it. Just like she was, once, a lifetime ago, when she still feared him, still despised him. How had those feelings gone away? Maybe she just grew to understand him. Klaus, ultimately, doesn't want to be alone. As much as he prided himself in his uniqueness, his incredible power, he also despised it, being the only one of his kind. Caroline will never know what it's like, to be wholly alone in such a way.

She pushes the guilt away, knowing that she left him alone. Proved to him that, yet again, he was going to be abandoned.

"I don't hate Klaus," Stefan says finally, pulling Caroline from her thoughts. "I should, and maybe you should too, but I don't. You're right." Stefan takes a swig of wine from his glass, letting out a long sigh after he swallows. "We've all hurt people." The weight of the words settles over him and Caroline can only imagine what he's remembering. She places a hand over his and smiles when he looks up at her.

"But we can be forgiven," she reminds him.

"So, then, is that it?" Stefan asks. "Do you forgive him?"

She turns the question over in her head a few times. "No, I don't. But, one day, I think I could."

"Why'd you leave him, then?" He asks and Caroline knows it's finally time to come clean with him.

She takes a deep breath and releases it slowly. "You said you were best friends with him." Stefan nods. "And I said that's because, back then, you weren't who you are now. You were a ripper." Caroline stops.

"What is it, Caroline?" Stefan questions gently.

"I was changing, Stefan. He was changing me." She then lets out a huff. "I guess that's not entirely fair to say, but being with him, it's like…something was set off. I became more…_vampire_." Stefan gives her a questioning look. "Like, I'd look at humans and get a hunger I haven't had for years, not since I was turned. I thought I had it under control. But Klaus brought it back out again." Caroline frowns, looking away from Stefan. "And then I fed from someone directly and it seemed like he was almost _happy _I did." She stops again, staring off. "I left because I was scared I was going to change, become something, _someone_, different. Someone I don't want to be."

"Well, Caroline, tell me this," Stefan ducks his head so she'll look at him. "When you fed from her, were _you_ happy?"

"No." Caroline says definitely, shaking her head. "Not at all."

"Then I don't think you have anything to worry about. Caroline, your self-control has always been astonishing. You haven't had a slip up in years. You even taught me how to handle my hunger. If you go off the rails, it's not going to be by mistake, it'll be because you want to." Stefan pauses. "Klaus's presence can be intoxicating. I know from experience. It's very…easy to lose yourself while he's around. To give in to the hunger, to embody the predatory nature of our species." He gives that far off look again, remembering. "But I think that if anyone can resist Klaus, it's you."

"But, Stefan," Caroline begins. "That's what I thought too, but I still found myself slipping up."

"Then maybe you should reconsider why you were slipping up." Caroline stares at Stefan, confused. "Maybe it wasn't Klaus getting into your head." He frowns, an almost sympathetic look in his eyes.

Her gaze slides from his face to her hands. "Maybe I was opening my mind up," she finishes. "Maybe I was accepting him."

They both remain silent for a moment. Finally Stefan asks, very quietly, "But why, Caroline? How?" He isn't accusing or judgmental at all. He's leading her to something. Something she's been denying for a while now.

_Samira's eyes shine like emeralds in the soft light of the café in Cairo. Her head is cocked to the side, lips pursed, and eyes wide. "Do you love him?"_

"_No."_

_But she could, oh, she could. _

_Bonnie won't look at her, face darkened as the light of the old, antique lamp on her end table, littered with papers, shines behind her head. "Do you love him?"_

"_I don't know."_

_But maybe she's starting to figure it out._

_Klaus's teeth sink a little too hard into her lip and she can't help letting out a little gasp, can't help her eyes flying open as the pain jolts her back to the real world, not one compromised of Klaus's lips or tongue or teeth or hands or scent. _

_But then he lets her leave and she's left standing shell-shocked long after he's gone._

Caroline's struck with a memory. She had caught a rabbit when she was a child with the help of her father. She desperately wanted to keep it, but her father insisted that it would be happier living in the wild. Caroline had cried for hours because she claimed to love it, having named the animal and everything. Her father had told her, gently, "If you love something, set it free." And so she did.

_He let her be free. _

How had she found herself accepting Klaus for the monster he is? (_Was? Could be?)_

Caroline finally looks at Stefan. Her brow knits and she chews on the inside of her cheek.

"I love him."

She doesn't realize she's been crying.

xx

I promise there won't be as long a wait next time. :)

-Reels


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